So the time finally arrived, I had the opportunity to glimpse Peninsula, the sequel to one of the best zombie movies in recent memory: Train To Busan. A completely different movie in tone, vibe, and budget as this one feels grand in scale. Peninsula succesfully explores and expands this forbidden new dangerous world ruled by the undead, much like 28 Weeks Later attempted a while back.
Peninsula is the 28 Weeks Later to 28 Days Later
The Kill Bill Vol. 2 to Kill Bill Vol. 1
The Nymphomaniac Vol. 2 to Nymphomaniac Vol. 1
In the sense that it feels like its own movie. A darker tone. Opposite to the original which takes place mostly during the day, this one takes place mostly during the night. Still, no matter how epic most of the action sequences look and feel, this one lacks the intensity of the first one.
Right from the bat we get a pretty intense & oddly emotional opening that paves the way for what's to come. The action sequences are well shot, wild and kept giving me some Mad Max: Road Fury vibes, specially during an awesome car chase in the third act.
The characters are the hook. So well developed. You totally get a sense of who they are and root for them. Even secondary characters get a glimpse of personality. Dong-Won Gang, Jung-hyun Lee & Do-Yoon Kim are our 3 leads who do a great job from what I could tell. They're all bad-asses. But this is Dong-Won Gang through and through as he's the one with the redemption arc. You will despise the hell out of Gyo-hwan Koo who plays one of the bad guys. I won't say any more.
There's a lot of surprises in store and in the end this one feels rather epic for a zombie apocalypse horror movie, which is rare. The production values are great. Everything from the soundtrack, to the sets, to the make-up, to the special effects look Hollywood material. I didn't love it as much as Train To Busan because this one didn't feel as personal (the whole situation of our lead trying to protect his daughter) or as immediate to me (taking place in a train is claustrophobic enough). But it's still a well made, strong, & emotional sequel that stands on its own feet.
Watch the trailer:
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