The zombie genre and the heartfelt, dramatic genre are often split far apart on the spectrum of what works together in a film. Of course, there are plenty of examples in which they are able to do so without being overtly goofy, such as South Korea's first undead blockbuster Train to Busan. While this film is an excellent example of the genres blending together to create a memorably emotional experience, its sequel Peninsula did not quite reach those same heights. Set in the same universe as its predecessor, this follow-up focuses on a different set of characters and tells their story while attempting to reach the same level of emotion that was so well-written in the first. While it is never quite able to do that, this film just further proves that South Korea is still better than the U.S. when it comes to crafting an exciting blockbuster. This movie might be much more forgettable than the first but when it comes to creative storytelling and authentically fun action sequences, director Sang-ho Yeon delivers just what one would expect.
Set four years after the events of the first, Jung Seok (Dong-Won Gang) is a former South Korean soldier who is hired to join a gang of mercenaries to go back into the peninsula area of long-evacuated Korea to retrieve millions of dollars of stolen money. Of course, plans do not go as expected and he ends up joining forces with a small family made up of Min Jung (Jung-hyun Lee) and her children as the group fights to survive and return back to safety. While Train to Busan was an exceptional installment into the neverendingly popular zombie genre, it seems almost natural that a sequel would not be quite as good. Despite being helmed by the same, talented director, Peninsula is honestly nothing more than a mildly fun and solid action thriller. However, that is not necessarily a bad thing at all. I am and always will be a sucker for zombie and undead media in many forms and seeing a successful foreign film prosper in the genre that it had never explored before brings me immense amounts of joy. In a way, this is everything that I could have hoped for with the film, even when I first learned that it was going to be entirely new characters than from the first. So whether it be my undying love for the undead or its fun and unique take on the genre, I could not help myself but love this film. The script, written by director Yeon Sang-ho and Ryu Yong-jae, was undeniably solid and again, while there was not much room for the emotion portrayed in the first film, there is still a level of familial values and unexpected bonding in the time of crisis that makes this story so compelling. The direction from Yeon was great and even though a bit of editing could have been done to pick up the pace, there are so many great set pieces and action joyrides throughout the film that kept me on my toes. The characters were all written incredibly well and were infused with just the right amount of humor and lightheartedness that the original film in this franchise seemed to lack. Comedy is not essential when it comes to this genre but for a sequel that goes full-on goofy and ventures into becoming South Korean Mad Max: Fury Road, it was a welcome change to the tone that was set from the first.
My one issue when it comes to Yeon's direction was that it was very obvious he was attempting to reach the same level of earned emotion that the conclusion of the first film did. The third act of this film goes on for far too long and although the action chases leading up to the last scenes were exciting, they did not provide nearly enough adrenaline to get me through the slog of the last fifteen minutes. So many emotional punches tried to be pulled but they ended up practically canceling each other out and I quickly wondered when, if ever, the film was going to end. Peninsula would have been miles better if Yeon had leaned much, much more into the wacky elements of the world and instead of trying to appeal to audiences' emotions, he could have honestly made a zombie action-comedy and I would have thanked him for it. The film should have taken the route of the Cloverfield franchise, in which every new addition to the franchise is a part of the same world but they are all such different takes on what happened to people during an apocalypse-level event. Despite this film not matching the intensity of its predecessor, so many of its elements were phenomenal and continue to prove that South Korean filmmakers reign dominant in many, typically Western genres. From the Thunderdome-esque action sequences to the ridiculously fun driving talents of the young characters, this film is just a blast and its effectiveness as a blockbuster shines through more than anything. The visual effects throughout this film are also wonderful and although many of the physics of the stunts are questionable, it created this strange feeling of mischief, almost to the point of feeling like a video game. All of these aesthetic choices made quite a visually pleasing experience, even though its plot might have faltered at times. As long as one does not go in expecting the sheer brilliance of Train to Busan, then it is safe to say that they will have one of the best times in a movie of this year so far.
Peninsula is an almost flawless bridge back into this apocalyptic world that was created in the first film. Although it never reaches the fantastic levels that the original installment of this franchise did, there is still so much to adore about Sang-ho's filmmaking abilities. I really did start to care about these characters, despite the nearly satirical situations that they were put through in this film but they absolutely grew on me. More than anything, interesting characters are what make a good apocalypse film and I am thankful that Sang-ho has delivered a worthy and entertaining sequel for us to escape to in these not-so-great times.
My Rating: ★★★½
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