Peninsula learned the wrong lessons from Train to Busan | Movie Review

Yeon Sang-ho's Train to Busan was a surprise smash success for a filmmaker whose prior features had been ultra-dark animated dramas, and it's clearly shaped the direction of his career in the years since. After stepping away from the series with Psychokinesis, he has returned to the franchise that made him famous with Peninsula.
Maybe he shouldn't have?
While I talk about certain events in both Peninsula and Train to Busan, I consider the video effectively spoiler-free.
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[@askmelater8175]

The ending to Peninsula was awful. First how could they see the mother in the truck. She was literally hundreds of metres away. They literally stop for a minute to hug while being chased by zombies to the helicopter. The CGI is atrocious. There are several points in this movie where logic and continuity go completely out the window. Its a shame because the first 10 minutes shows this could have been a good movie.

[@ChakLok]

Peninsula could just take place on just a boat in the beginning

[@TheWeekIReview]

That would have been an interesting way to do that. "Boat from Busan"?

[@woober8328]

That was what I was thinking.. Would of been a great sequel than just stealing some cash in a city

[@JC_Cali]

@@woober8328 Yo, it woulda been a spirtual successor to Speed 2: Cruise Control - and I would not be upset by that XD

[@Hervinbalfour]

@@TheWeekIReview that would have been a great title. Then in the third we could bring back what's left of the original cast in the first film to wrap it all up. Like I want to know what happened to the girl and the pregnant woman.

[@FloatingOer]

I watched the movie today and thought the exact same thing, get the original two actors that survived to be the protagonists (any aging can be explained by having Busan be safe for the meantime), then have the movie take place on the ship. 1: Civilians without weapons on a Train trying to survive. 2: Civilians without weapons on a boat trying to survive. The third movie can be in a skyscraper or something lol. Instead we get a bad cgi Tokyo drift action movie with lots of guns where the main threat are other humans (that aren't that much of a threat anyway) while the zombies are in the backdrop. Despite that I think the movie was ok, it had its good moments, though I didn't like the car chases that much that overused the cgi.

[@Ni-boo]

I like ttb because of the small scope of it's focus; just normal people getting caught up in the chaos.

[@jesfavor831]

I don't know why they let the sequel to one of the best zombie flicks go the Hollywood route. Its story is bland, its characters didn't give you anything substantial to feel invested in their predicament, and the third act--the car chase--was just sooo long and boring. This film is a big missed opportunity.

[@TheWeekIReview]

I would rather they gone full Hollywood (and gotten the Hollywood budget in the process) than this weird imitation.

[@jesfavor831]

@@TheWeekIReview if it wasn't the sequel to Train to Busan, I would be way more forgiving of said film. To me, it just lacks soul its predecessor had in spades.

[@Schneespur98]

Tbh, as a follow up to TTB its horrible. But viewed as a standalone Zombie Movie is was a lot of fun, especially considering how much more bland action zombie movies normally get. I watched it in 4DX, so i guess thats why the car chases were the best part for me. In those moments, it almost felt like a ride at an amusement park, and i seriousely couldnt get enough of it.

[@KairoK]

This guy has great teeth.

[@TheWeekIReview]

My parents spent a lot of money on them, so I'm glad someone noticed!

[@sourisnathan3747]

I laughed at the 'a guy who would instantly give up in an apocalypse' I so feel that as soon as I know the world is ending I'll Start looking for the most painless way to die. Or at least that what I've always told myself. Anyways earned a like from me and keep up the good work.

[@yayan9544]

keep doing you sir, the quality in your vids are superb, just need to hit that next vid that will blow your channel up!

[@TheWeekIReview]

I appreciate that!

[@keikonooner3756]

I think that it's the unrealistic, feel good, anime action movie to make you feel better after the first one rips out your soul. The comedy in this one is top notch.

[@hailanlguerd4139]

I watched the movie but it's too predictable.

[@TheWeekIReview]

It went dumber than I expected, so I guess I didn't quite predict it because I thought it might do something interesting with some of the setups... But in retrospect it was pretty painfully obvious.

[@hailanlguerd4139]

Appreciate your brilliant review mate 🧉

[@TheWeekIReview]

Thank you!

[@epenaloza52]

Where did you see it???

[@realtalk6195]

I'm not too surprised at the direction that the 2nd live-action film took. If you compare the first three Romero zombie films with the zombie films he made after it, the latter are more cartoonish.

[@Man_in_a_Gucci_Suit]

I actually liked peninsula yea it’s a little Hollywood direction and a lot of characters speak English now which takes away from the authenticity But it had good action, good acting especially from the kids and a good “physcopath” sub plot which I feel every good zombie movie needs physcopaths

[@samkim691]

How did the cars start up after 4 years?

[@obshussion8401]

My exact thought

[@yourfriendlycynic]

i watched this film about a year ago and all i rmb from it is the funny cantonese. its not everyday you get koreans trying to speak cantonese lol (i rmb they had some actual native speakers but most weren't)

[@אסא-ח7ו]

feels like missed opportunity for me also i watched in a 4dx cinema and popcorn falling everywhere... 💀💀

[@TheWeekIReview]

That sounds fucking wild

[@epenaloza52]

Where did you see it??? The theaters near me aren't open

[@realtalk6195]

Your second camera should be placed at a 50-degree angle from your first camera rather than a 90-degree angle.

[@boomtowncat2876]

6.5/10? You're too generous! Maybe Train to Busan was a fluke. It probably helped to have a likeable tough guy character played by Don Lee too. Peninsula characters are cartoonish and cliche. I cringed to death when the little girl said "Hop in if you wanna live". By the way, have you heard of "Sin-Pa" (신파)? It literally means "new wave". It was coined in the early 20th century so it's actually a very old wave. It's the most frequently used trope in Korean cinema. It refers to contrived tearjerking device (if that makes sense?). Modern Korean moviegoers don't like it anymore but it seems like a very hard habit to break for directors, including Yeon. It's like MSG. Yeon overused it in the most corny and laughable way possible. I'm afraid he's done. The telekinesis movie you mentioned bomed and so did Peninsula.

[@FloatingOer]

Maybe the director will be the South Korean equivalent of M. Night Shyamalan who made "the sixth sense" early on and then basically only made worse and worse movies like "the happening" etc.

[@allennotalent2064]

subbed, pretty good channel. well thought out review.

[@Preposter]

I agree! There's also a shift in genre between the two movies. *Train to Busan is a survival/drama movie.* *Peninsula is an action/horror movie.* Train to Busan is a well crafted art piece depicting interesting characters develop. Peninsula is a cheesy one-off action flick. Moreover, as a Korean, I've definitely noticed how they tried to appeal more to American culture. The movie adopted an abundance of American clichés and tropes. Even the characters didn't feel Korean! If the characters' nationality and movie location switched, I would not notice. With the first movie, it was clearly depicted as being Korean; the first move was embedded with a lot of Korean culture and social norms. *The new movie felt like a bad amalgamation that appeals to neither the American or Korean audience.* In addition, the characters were not as well developed. As you mentioned, some did have good moments but majority were bad. The arc for our main protagonist was really bad and the deaths of some characters were underplayed while some were overplayed. Plus, the end did not feel genuine. Some things did not add up and a lot of characters and story plots feel done yet incomplete. I liked the outcome but it tasted bitter rather than sweet. *Some scenes were hard to follow and the story was all over the place. The physics was horrible and I had to suspend my disbelief for majority of the movie.* Luckily, I can get behind bad CGI and the cheese. Sadly, I cannot get behind bad writing. I would give this movie a 5/10 rather than a 6/10. (PS Amazing work. I would love it if you had longer reviews. Subbed)

[@matias5817]

I like it, is a good action movie with zombies and the car chasing scenes were good too

[@maadacoomber9090]

Matias the mega cgi car scenes threw me off so much, especially at the end when they were going under the bridge and everything was cg

[@10md.]

I read the title and thought kingdom season 2 was bad too (and #alive)

[@keithg3919]

"Ain't Aliens" lol

[@umum5348]

Reviews are 🔥

[@briela5441]

a hero to save us from capitalism?!...sign me up😶⚘

[@TheWeekIReview]

Right? Yeah, Psychokinesis is dope.

[@briela5441]

@@TheWeekIReview I have a feeling that I'll really enjoy it!👀

[@ingweingweron3135]

I actually watched "the fake" on your recommendation and enjoyed it quite much. Right now I have some other films on my list but maybe I'll watch this some time later. It just doesn't seem too urgent and the messed up CGI sounds kind of bad. There are just too many good films and I only watch one per week max because I feel like I need a lot of time after a film because I need to let it sink in and think about it.

[@TheWeekIReview]

Heck yeah, The Fake! Also: A 6.0 in my system is basically "very tepid recommendation," but if you watch one movie per week maximum, this one isn't worth losing a week of thinking about something really interesting over.

[@paulwaugh5652]

I tapped out after 30min into this sequel, when some kid showed up in a SUV! 😒 I couldn't proceed any further. Disappointed.

[@obshussion8401]

I sadly watched through it. It was the most trash movie I’ve ever seen, I also can’t comprehend how bad the cgi is 🤣

[@paulwaugh5652]

@@obshussion8401 LMAOOOOO 😂😂🤣 You ain't bullshiting.

[@vrgl101]

whenever you speak, you look like your whole body is submerged in ice water.

[@TheWeekIReview]

That's a new one!

[@steelslither]

Holy shit

[@edwardkann2827]

We decided to switch gears and watch it as one of those horrible, horrible movies that is so sooooo bad that parts of it can be hilarious. With the right friends and some beer, would watch again. However, quite possibly one of the worst films I've ever seen.

[@robbesmet8697]

7 page muda

[@teresaalcantar3265]

lazy town

[@dianasimonenko8113]

cartoon

[@mismismism]

I only watched halfway through. This movie was awful and stupid.

[@KXINGApoc1122]

Bro you just ramble on most of the video 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@TheWeekIReview]

Sounds like me.

[@joseluissanchezjr]

He ramble because he talking about the movie and giving a review?

[@neerajmukulgogoi3272]

The way u talk man it irritates me

[@TheWeekIReview]

Sucks to be you, huh?

[@allennotalent2064]

imagine being ginger lmfaooooooo jk im sorry, good review

[@TheWeekIReview]

Who's a ginger?

[@madhuripatnaik2299]

I don't know whats Wrong with the Movie..Y'all acting like Peninsula is a Sin of a movie itself and Shitting on it ..without seeing it as an Blockbuster Action Movie..with A Really Good action scenes ,Terrifying zombies, Impressive Action scenes..And a very Balanced Plot Sequences..with strong Characters.. The problem people have is theres too much CGI. Well duh ..it's an Action Zombie movie. World War Z had CGI no one complained, Fast NFurious had CGI..and compared to Other Asian movies that use CGI this was fucking impressive.. And Please don't compare it to .TTB because Both of them r different movies TTB was in a train while Peninsula is in a City and they have done a Good Job of creating that atmosphere of Thousands of Zombies attacking U while on a Mad Max Chase... Y'all are Nitpicking too much clearly

[@TheWeekIReview]

This awful comment is far nitpickier than my review. You have terrible taste in movies.

[@hysterical5408]

@@TheWeekIReview If this is how you react to people disagreeing with you, then you really don't deserve any sort of credibility.

[@devilmostdie]

@@TheWeekIReview i enjoy your videos but you are so close minded to everyone who doesn’t have the same opinion that i’m gonna unsub and stop watching and hope everyone else does too, good luck having a successful channel if this is how you treat your audience...

[@godhoward2237]

Am I the only one who can’t hear anything else but the constant gum noises this guy makes every time he contorts his mouth? Your audio equipment is capturing to much. You need to downgrade your equipment my guy or at the very least try not shshjejenebeshbsbsj so much next to your mic

[@TheWeekIReview]

Sounds like a you problem.

[@juicyfruit10001000]

The biggest problem is the fucking train carriage numbers. They supposedly, head from nine towards the fifteen carriage WHICH IS APPARENTLY THE FRONT OF THE TRAIN, honestly the shittest movie ever.