Peninsula is a 2020 zombie thriller set four years after the events of Train to Busan.
As mentioned in the intro, you don’t even have to watch the previous installment in order to get the story. That being said, Peninsula takes place four years after the events of Train to Busan. It focuses on a new protagonist named Jung-seok (Gang Dong-won) who’s a former soldier that has escaped the devastating zombie apocalypse in South Korea. While staying in Hong Kong, he and his brother-in-law Chul-min (Kim Do-yoon) now have to go back to the quarantined wasteland for a covert operation. While trying to survive, he meets a group of survivors during his mission, and we have ourselves a really entertaining adventure!
Once again, all the cast members do a great job with their performances. While the main protagonist isn’t as likeable as some of the lead characters from Train to Busan, he’s still a memorable antihero who grows as a person from start to finish. When emotional scenes start happening, you feel for him, and it’s quite touching. Admittedly, the bad guys are really over-the-top in a cartoonish way, but hopefully it doesn’t bother you too much. The supporting characters are the ones that stand out, and they bring a lot of fun energy on screen.
Whether you love or hate this movie, you still have to praise the director for wanting to try something new with the latest chapter of his zombie series. Seoul Station, Train to Busan and Peninsula all feel different from one another, and that’s a good thing. This time around, it feels like a Mad Max film filled with zombies. The action scenes are a lot of fun to watch, especially the insane car chases. The intensity never stops. However, the narrative is messy at times. It sometimes loses focus in its storytelling when it goes from one character to another, and it can be a little jarring.
Even with its flaws, Peninsula is a really good standalone sequel! You will either like or dislike it after loving Train to Busan so much, and that’s totally up to you. Some people might be having zombie movie fatigue right now, but Yeon Sang-ho knows how to make his trilogy completely unique and different. Grab some popcorn and enjoy one of the most insanely entertaining genre flicks of the year.