Any fans of the original TRAIN TO BUSAN, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime if you haven’t seen it yet, will immediately be sold on the sequel PENINSULA (also including a TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS title beforehand), which is in the world of the same zombie apocalypse taking place as the first movie but now in a totally different story with new characters.
Set over four years after the virus outbreak and after the virus has pretty much wiped out all of South Korea, the story follows Jung-Seok (Gang Dong-won) who comes across a crime boss who offers him a share of a LOT of cash but has to get it all himself. There’s a LOT going on here including MAD MAX-style road pyrotechnics in a virus-torn city, random characters who offset the journey, a zombie-contact arena and a lot of visually strong action overall. PENINSULA has a different tone and opposed to TRAIN TO BUSAN which almost entirely takes place on a train and had a very tight, claustrophobic feel to it. While I do prefer the original overall, I admired that PENINSULA went in a different direction.
About the disc:
Presented in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio, PENINSULA is a VERY dark movie, but it holds up incredibly well in a nice 4k UHD transfer, which I was able to power through Dolby Vision. I saw this originally in an IMAX presentation in the summer, but I even thought this 4k disc had stronger color and brightness in comparison. The movie has a much more stylized, darker tone than the first one to suggest the MAD MAX-like apocalyptic world and it really shows here. The soundtrack is a full-resolution Dolby soundtrack and is Dolby Atmos supported and it can get VERY loud at times depending on which home theater sound system that you have.
Extras are very limited here and are only on the included Blu-Ray, including a “Making Of” featurette, interviews with cast and crew, and trailers, of which also include english subtitles.
Somewhat timely considering the current pandemic we are living through right now, I enjoyed the sequel to the outstanding TRAIN TO BUSAN, admired its different approach and it’s a VERY nice presentation of the movie on 4k disc. If you are a 4k disc collector and love action movies, this is an easy addition to the collection.
Train to Busan Presents PENINSULA is now available in the US and Canada from Well Go USA entertainment. In Canada it is also streaming on Shudder. Thanks to Yulia at Taro PR for sending along a review copy.