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Peninsula (film)
2020 film directed by Yeon Sang-ho From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Peninsula (Korean: 반도; Hanja: 半島; RR: Bando; marketed internationally as Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula) is a 2020 South Korean post-apocalyptic action horror film co-written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho.[4][5] It is a standalone sequel to the 2016 film Train to Busan, the second live-action feature film and the third overall installment in the Train to Busan film series. The plot follows a former soldier who is sent along with a team to retrieve a truck full of money from the wastelands of South Korea, now inhabited by zombies, rogue militia, and a family. The film stars an ensemble cast featuring Gang Dong-won and Lee Jung-hyun.
Peninsula was chosen to premiere in the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and simply released theatrically in South Korea on 15 July 2020, while also being shown at the 25th Busan International Film Festival on 21 October 2020. It grossed $42.7 million worldwide on a $16 million budget but received generally mixed reviews from critics, who found it inferior to the first film.
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Plot
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A zombie outbreak overwhelms South Korea,[a] prompting international evacuations before the peninsula is quarantined in Busan. ROKMC officer Jung-seok drives his sister, her husband Chul-min, and their young son Dong-hwan to an evacuation ship. They encounter a distressed couple with a young daughter begging for a ride, but Jung-seok refuses to help them after noticing the husband is bleeding. Onboard the ship, an infected passenger turns into a zombie and bites several others, including Dong-hwan. Jung-seok's sister stays behind with her son and is bitten; Jung-seok seals off the cabin to contain the outbreak, preventing Chul-min from entering as armed soldiers intervene.
Four years later in Hong Kong, Jung-seok, Chul-min, and two other Korean refugees are recruited by Chinese mobsters to return to South Korea and retrieve a truck containing US$20 million. In exchange, they are promised half the money. The team arrives at night, locates the truck, and kills the zombie driver. The noise attracts nearby zombies, but the team manages to escape with the vehicle.
While heading toward Incheon Port, the team is ambushed by a rogue militia squad led by Sergeant Hwang. Their vehicles crash; one team member dies in the accident and the other is killed by Hwang. Chul-min hides in the truck while Jung-seok flees on foot. He is rescued by two sisters: skilled driver Joon and the younger Yu-jin. They bring him to their hideout, where they live with their mother Min-jung and grandfather Elder Kim. Jung-seok realizes that Min-jung and Yu-jin are the mother and young daughter he had refused to help four years ago.
The militia transports the truck to their base, unaware of the money inside. They are part of the rogue faction Unit 631, which imprisons Chul-min and forces him to participate in cruel survival games that pit captives against zombies. Private Kim discovers the money and informs Captain Seo, who secretly contacts the mobsters and plans to escape the peninsula alone with the truck. Meanwhile, Jung-seok tells Min-jung and her family that an extraction ship awaits his team and the truck at Incheon Port. Min-jung devises a plan to steal the truck and escape the peninsula with her family and Jung-seok.
The following night, Jung-seok and Min-jung infiltrate the militia base. Holding Private Kim at gunpoint, Jung-seok learns that Chul-min is still alive, and halts the ongoing survival game to rescue him. Chul-min narrowly saves Jung-seok from a zombie bite but is shot dead by Hwang. Min-jung fends off Seo and escapes in the truck with Jung-seok, but their route is blocked by a horde of zombies. Joon, Yu-jin, and Elder Kim arrive and distract the zombies on a chase to their car.
The two vehicles escape with Hwang and Unit 631 in pursuit. They manage to destroy the pursuing vehicles, and Hwang is killed by zombies. Seo, having killed Private Kim, ambushes the family at Incheon Port and takes Joon hostage. Yu-jin distracts Seo, allowing Joon to escape, but Elder Kim is fatally shot and Min-jung is wounded in the ensuing confrontation. Seo escapes with the truck and boards the extraction ship, but the mobsters betray and shoot him. As he dies, Seo reverses the truck to deliberately jam the cargo ramp, allowing zombies outside to overrun the ship and kill everyone onboard.
Jung-seok and the family manage to signal a passing U.N. Chinook. Min-jung, injured, stays to hold back a horde of zombies so Jung-seok and her daughters can reach the helicopter before preparing to shoot herself. Remembering Chul-min's words about his failure to protect his family, Jung-seok returns to save her and shoots the zombies down. Min-jung escapes, and the family safely board the helicopter and evacuate the peninsula.
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Cast
- Gang Dong-won as Jung-seok: A former South Korean Marine Corps Captain, who suffers from guilt as a result of his nephew and sister's deaths.[6]
- Lee Jung-hyun as Min-jung: A mysterious lady who had run into Jung-seok four years back while attempting to get out of Korea.
- Kwon Hae-hyo as Elder Kim: The father of Min-jung, and grandfather of Joon and Yu-jin.
- Kim Min-jae as Sergeant Hwang: The sadistic former sergeant of Unit 631 and co-manager of an underground fight club
- Koo Kyo-hwan as Captain Seo: The captain of Unit 631 and the cynical head of an underground fight club, who went insane years after the virus ravaged Korea.
- Kim Do-yoon as Chul-min: The brother-in-law of Jung-seok and a member of Jung-seok's team.
- Lee Re as Joon: The eldest daughter of Min-jung, who drives an armored car to help survivors.
- Lee Ye-won (actor) as Yu-jin: Youngest daughter of Min-jung, who uses loud toy vehicles to draw out zombies and kill them.
- Jang So-yeon as Jung-seok's elder sister: The older sister of Jung-seok, who, refusing to leave her infected son behind, succumbed to the virus four years back.
- Moon Woo-jin as Dong-hwan: Nephew of Jung-seok, who was infected four years back.
- Kim Kyu-baek as Private Kim: The private of Unit 631 and the vice leader of the underground fight club, and Seo's right-hand man.
- Bella Rahim as Major Jane: a Malaysian UN soldier
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Release
Peninsula was selected to be shown at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival as part of the Official Selection.[7][8] However, the festival was eventually cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[9] It was theatrically released in South Korea on 15 July 2020, and was also shown in the Panorama section of the 25th Busan International Film Festival on 21 October 2020.[10]
The film was initially set to release in theaters in the United States on 21 August 2020, but moved to streaming via Shudder and released on 1 April 2021 as "a Shudder exclusive".[11][12][13] It was released in India on 27 November 2020.[14]
Home media
In the United Kingdom, it was 2020's fourth best-selling foreign language film on physical home video formats (below Parasite, Weathering with You, and Mulan: Legendary Warrior).[15]
Reception
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Box office
Peninsula grossed $1.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $41.5 million in other territories (including $28.7 million from South Korea), for a worldwide total of $42.7 million.[2]
In South Korea, the film made $2.4 million from 2,338 screens on its opening day, the best total of 2020, and $4 million through its first two days of release. It also opened in Taiwan and Singapore, making a combined $905,000 on its first day.[16] The film went on to debut to $13.2 million over its first five days in South Korea, and a total $20.8 million (including $750,000 from 45 IMAX screens) worldwide. It was the first time since mid-March that the global box office totaled over $1 million.[17] After ten days of release, the film had totaled $19.3 million in South Korea. In its second weekend the film also made another $265,000 from 51 IMAX screens in six countries, becoming the highest grossing local-language title ever for IMAX in Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam with $1 million.[18] By August 7, the film had grossed nearly $27 million in South Korea.[19] The film made around $100,000 from 47 theaters from its Canadian debut,[20] and $213,415 from 151 theaters the following weekend from its United States opening.[21]
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 55% with an average rating of 5.9/10, based on 131 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads: "Although a disappointing sense of familiarity threatens to derail Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula, fans of the original may find it a thrilling enough ride."[22] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[23]
Rob Hunter of Film School Rejects said the "film forgoes much of what makes Train to Busan so intensely affecting in favor of a somewhat more generic setting" but said "it's a fantastic idea blending a zombie movie with a heist film, and Yeon has fun with the concept."[5]
Rotten Tomatoes lists the film on its 100 Best Zombie Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer.[24]
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Accolades
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References
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External links
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