Train to Busan (2016) Review
I love horror movies, specifically survival-horror movies. In fact, my favorite kind of movie is where a group of people are trapped in an isolated or confined location, with some sort of horrific threat trying to kill them. I really enjoy watching the characters try and solve the problem and succeed or fail in their attempts to survive and/or escape. So, when I hear about a zombie-movie that takes place on a bullet train, I am all aboard.
Train to Busan follows Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), a divorced, workaholic, fund manager. His relationship with his young daughter, Su-an (Kim Su-an), is strained because of Seok-woo's busy schedule. For her birthday, Su-an wants to visit her mother, who lives in the city of Busan, Seok-woo reluctantly agrees to take the morning off of work and take her there. They board a bullet train, just as a zombie infection begins to break out all around South Korea. Unfortunately, one of the passengers is infected and quickly attacks the others. Seok-woo is forced to team up with the other passengers to fight off the zombies, so he can protect his daughter and make it to the military base in Busan.
What works:
Most of this movie works. Train to Busan is an effective and intense zombie movie. The action sequences are excellent and it's fun to see how the characters figure out the best ways to deal with the zombies as they move from car to car.
The biggest standout of the movie is the designs of the zombies. This is some of the best creature design I've ever seen. The zombies work as a horde, similar to World War Z, but the individual zombies are much more grotesque and memorable. These are zombies that will stick with you, and haunt your nightmares for years to come.
There are also two supporting actors I want to mention. First is a relatively minor character, an old woman, Jong-gil (Park Ayung-Sin). Jong-gil does not get very much to do in the movie, but she has one very memorable moment, where she causes the deaths f some very unlikeable characters. I literally shouted, "F**k yes!" at the TV.
The other character I want to mention is Sang-hwa (Ma Dong-seok), a professional wrestler, who takes on the zombies with his bare hands. He is funny, a bit of an asshole, and a total bad-ass, and is easily the best character in the movie.
What sucks:
I really like this movie, but there are several frustrating moments throughout the film where several characters, including our protagonist, Seek-woo, make some incredibly stupid decisions. I don't mind this so much when the characters making the bad decisions die immediately, but that wasn't always the case here. I don't enjoy when characters freeze up in life or death situations and I have to yell at then to move their ass. I enjoy it when the characters make smart decisions. I find movies more engaging when the characters make the choices I would make. Otherwise, it gets frustrating. But as the movie went on, this happened less and less.
Finally, this isn't a problem for me, but I know it might be for some people. This is a South Korean film, therefore the entire thing is in Korean. There are subtitles, but some people don't like to read their movies. If you're one of those people, this might not be the movie for you, but I urge you to give it a go.
Verdict:
Train to Busan has got it going on. It has some flaws, but it's still a great zombie movie, and if you are a fan of horror or zombie movies, this is one you should definitely check out.
9/10: Great.
Train to Busan follows Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), a divorced, workaholic, fund manager. His relationship with his young daughter, Su-an (Kim Su-an), is strained because of Seok-woo's busy schedule. For her birthday, Su-an wants to visit her mother, who lives in the city of Busan, Seok-woo reluctantly agrees to take the morning off of work and take her there. They board a bullet train, just as a zombie infection begins to break out all around South Korea. Unfortunately, one of the passengers is infected and quickly attacks the others. Seok-woo is forced to team up with the other passengers to fight off the zombies, so he can protect his daughter and make it to the military base in Busan.
What works:
Most of this movie works. Train to Busan is an effective and intense zombie movie. The action sequences are excellent and it's fun to see how the characters figure out the best ways to deal with the zombies as they move from car to car.
The biggest standout of the movie is the designs of the zombies. This is some of the best creature design I've ever seen. The zombies work as a horde, similar to World War Z, but the individual zombies are much more grotesque and memorable. These are zombies that will stick with you, and haunt your nightmares for years to come.
There are also two supporting actors I want to mention. First is a relatively minor character, an old woman, Jong-gil (Park Ayung-Sin). Jong-gil does not get very much to do in the movie, but she has one very memorable moment, where she causes the deaths f some very unlikeable characters. I literally shouted, "F**k yes!" at the TV.
The other character I want to mention is Sang-hwa (Ma Dong-seok), a professional wrestler, who takes on the zombies with his bare hands. He is funny, a bit of an asshole, and a total bad-ass, and is easily the best character in the movie.
What sucks:
I really like this movie, but there are several frustrating moments throughout the film where several characters, including our protagonist, Seek-woo, make some incredibly stupid decisions. I don't mind this so much when the characters making the bad decisions die immediately, but that wasn't always the case here. I don't enjoy when characters freeze up in life or death situations and I have to yell at then to move their ass. I enjoy it when the characters make smart decisions. I find movies more engaging when the characters make the choices I would make. Otherwise, it gets frustrating. But as the movie went on, this happened less and less.
Finally, this isn't a problem for me, but I know it might be for some people. This is a South Korean film, therefore the entire thing is in Korean. There are subtitles, but some people don't like to read their movies. If you're one of those people, this might not be the movie for you, but I urge you to give it a go.
Verdict:
Train to Busan has got it going on. It has some flaws, but it's still a great zombie movie, and if you are a fan of horror or zombie movies, this is one you should definitely check out.
9/10: Great.
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