Unboxing: Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula 4K UltraHD and Blu-Ray Unboxing, Korean Zombie Action Movie

Thanks to our friends at Well Go USA, we have a special unboxing video for you of Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula!  We unbox the 4K UltraHD and Blu-Ray combo pack in this video, showing you what you get in this package.  Check out the fantastic packaging, beautiful disc, and the atmos soundtrack that comes in this!

Synopsis:
Taking place four years after South Korea’s total decimation in Train to Busan, Peninsula takes us back to South Korea for a look at how the nation fared.  From director Yeon Sang-ho, takes us back in a tense, zombie filled sequel.  Jung-seok, a soldier who previously escaped the diseased wasteland, relives the horror when assigned to a covert operation with two simple objectives: retrieve and survive. When his team unexpectedly stumbles upon survivors, their lives will depend on whether the best—or worst—of human nature prevails in the direst of circumstances.

This video will show you what you get from the 4K UltraHD and Blu-Ray combo pack.

Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula Review: Zombie Action With Fun Gadgets And Plenty of References to Original

Release date: August 21, 2020
Running time: 116 minutes
Starring: Dong-Won Gang, Jung-hyun Lee, John D. Michaels 

Taking place four years after South Korea’s total decimation in Train to Busan, Peninsula takes us back to South Korea for a look at how the nation fared.  From director Yeon Sang-ho, takes us back in a tense, zombie filled sequel.  Jung-seok, a soldier who previously escaped the diseased wasteland, relives the horror when assigned to a covert operation with two simple objectives: retrieve and survive. When his team unexpectedly stumbles upon survivors, their lives will depend on whether the best—or worst—of human nature prevails in the direst of circumstances.

Train to Busan was such an amazingly fresh take on the zombie genre that it was an instant classic.  The movie had so much tense action, so much heart, and an overall great zombie aesthetic.  Peninsula, taking place four years later, does have a lot of great references to the original movie.  It also has a heart wrenching, rough opening sequence.  However, after that the movie turns into more of a covert action movie and less about what made Train to Busan so amazing.  The movie follows a team who enter the Korean peninsula and deal with all the issues that come with it.  It is less Train to Busan and more Dead Rising.  It actually feels very much like Dead Rising, with some over the top personalities, fast but flawed zombies, and the use of gadgets to outwit them both.  This would not be bad in and of itself, but when coming from such stellar source material I can't but be let down. 

The movie does have a lot going for it, however.  On top of the references to the original, the movie does have some really great zombie acting.  Zombies will twitch, run on all fours, and throw themselves at their prey.  And although there is not a lot of it until the end, when there is gunplay or hand to hand combat, it is quite good.  With strong martial arts influences, and use of weapons as both projectiles but also as parts of the martial arts fighting, the action in this film is very exciting.  And on top of that, the movie does have some great uses of tools and environments to avoid and utilize the zombies.  There are some awesome gadgets that are pulled out to take advantage of the zombie triggers and limitations, and it makes for some enjoyable sequences.

However, there are some major flaws with this film.  First and foremost, the use of CGI in this film is frankly distracting.  Individual zombies are great and even small groups, but when the horde gets to be too large the CGI kicks in and is distracting at best.  Large zombie groups look unnatural and cartoony, making their impact less impressive.  Additionally, for a lot of what should be exciting car chase scenes, they again kick in the CGI to make them feel very unnatural.  Cars and trucks will move much quicker and have far more precise turns than they should, especially for salvaged, broken down cars on roads that are neglected and shattered.  It makes these sequences look and feel like video game sequences, less zombie horror and more Initial D.  And finally, this film should have been completely in Korean.  For whatever reason, the English VO sounds like a non-native speaker dubbing over non-Korean actors.  It is distracting and everything just sounds better and more natural in Korean.  Overall, there is a lot to like about this movie but all these little nits distract from the good sequences and action.  And although the film takes a long time to develop and sometimes feels disjointed due to the multiple plot lines, the ending is decently epic and recaptures a lot of the heart that made Train to Busan so endearing.  

4K UHD Update:

Train to Busan Peninsula was released on Blu-Ray and 4K UHD recently and I had a chance to watch review the 4K UHD version.  The 4K update is beautiful and the HDR really make the scenes pop.  Although the film generally has muted colors at the start, once the film moves to Hong Kong and the Peninsula itself, everything is crisp and clean and looks amazing.  The neon lights of Hong Kong really look amazing and some of the visuals from the traps and later fights are absolutely stunning in 4K with HDR.  Additionally, the disc releases add an Atmos soundtrack, which really makes the action pop.  The overall soundtrack is really well done and the addition of Atmos just makes that so much better.  So few movies do Atmos and do it well; the inclusion of this on both releases including the Blu-Ray release is a welcome addition.  

Peninsula is an exciting trip back to the Train to Busan universe, with good action and plenty of references to the original.  However, the distracting CGI, inconsistent story, and change in tone make this a trip you can delay taking.

Rent it.

If you liked this review and want to see more from Watch or Pass, please consider 
following us on our various social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube. 

What to Watch This Quarantine: Zombie Edition

As many of us are stuck indoors for extended periods of time, the only options for entertainment are streaming.  Luckily, we have you covered with a selection of themed movies.  This time, we are highlighting zombie movies to show the other type of apocalypse we could have had.  

Anna and the Apocalyspe (Hulu)
My favorite movie of 2018, Anna and the Apocalypse offers something refreshingly different from anything else out now, with the perfect combination of holiday cheer, catchy music, zombie action, funny characters, and high school drama!  For more information, check out our review!

The Dead Don't Die (Cinemax)
I wanted to love The Dead Don't Die so much more than I did, but now that it is streaming it is a good candidate to enjoy at home.  It has great performances by Bill Murray and Adam Driver, but the story is slow and some of the humor is hit or miss.  However, if you want a slower paced zombie apocalypse, this is a great choice.

Dead Rising: Watchtower (Amazon)

Dead Rising is one of my favorite game series, so when I saw that there was a movie I was excited.  It is not a great movie, but it is entertaining and has enough references and easter eggs to the video game to make fans of the series happy.  It also has plenty of ridiculous zombie action to keep those new to the series happy as well. 

Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (VUDU)
Ok, this movie looks ridiculous, but it has a very high rotten tomatoes rating and who doesn't love seeing zombie Nazis get their due.  However, reviews talk about how fun this film is with witty dialogue and silly antics.  

Evil Dead (1981) (Netflix)
Why not use this quarantine time to catch up on some classics like the original evil dead.  Sam Raimi's classic low budget zombie movie has just the right combination of gore and dark humor to keep you thrilled and entertained.

It Comes At Night (Netflix)
A tense film, this one has you on the edge of your seat from the start.  It has some good acting, really great cinematography, and enough suspense to keep you engaged throughout.  

Overlord (Amazon)

The alternate universe war movie tells a different side of Nazi Germany.  It has a lot of good action and what I loved most about it is that despite its clearly unrealistic antagonists, the movie is presented in a way that makes it fit into a plausible WW2 alternate history. 

Shaun of the Dead (Hulu)
A classic comedy zombie movie, Shaun of the Dead still holds up despite being 15 years old.  One of Simon Pegg’s earlier roles has him dealing with a zombie outbreak in his small UK town in a hilarious and gory adventure.

Train to Busan (Netflix and VUDU)
A Korean Zombie film features a father and a daughter trying to get to the city of Busan.  However, the area is overrun by fast moving, aggressive zombies.  This film has the perfect combination of tension, action, suspense, and heart as these do all that they can to survive.