Peninsula (film)

Peninsula (Korean: 반도; Hanja: 半島; RR: Bando; marketed in Northern America and the British Isles as Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula) is a 2020 South Korean action-horror film directed by Yeon Sang-ho.[4] It is a standalone sequel to the 2016 film Train to Busan and follows a soldier who is sent along with his team to retrieve a truck full of money from the wastelands of the Korean peninsula now inhabited by zombies, rogue militia, and a family.

Peninsula
Theatrical release poster marketed in Northern America and British Isles
Directed byYeon Sang-ho
Produced byLee Dong-ha
Written by
  • Park Joo-Suk
  • Yeon Sang-ho
Starring
Music byMowg
CinematographyLee Hyung-deok
Edited byYang Jin-mo
Production
company
Distributed by
  • Next Entertainment World
    (South Korea)
  • Well Go USA
    Shudder
    (United States)
Release date
  • July 15, 2020 (2020-07-15) (South Korea)
Running time
116 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
Language
  • Korean
  • English
  • Cantonese
Budget$16 million[1]
Box office$42.7 million[2][3]

Peninsula was chosen to be shown in the Official Selection of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was shown in panorama section of 25th Busan International Film Festival on October 21, 2020.[5]

The film was released in South Korea on 15 July 2020. It received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $42.7 million worldwide.

Plot

Republic of Korea Marine Corps Captain Jung-Seok is driving his elder sister, his nephew Dong-Hwan, and his brother-in-law Chul-min to a ship to escape a zombie outbreak in South Korea. On the way, he encounters a family with a young child, but he ignores the family's pleas for help and keeps driving. Later, in the cabin of the ship, an infected man turns into a zombie and infects numerous people, including Dong-Hwan. Jung-Seok's sister refuses to leave her son, so Jung-Seok is forced to block everyone, including Chul-min, from accessing the cabin.

Four years later in Hong Kong, a guilt-ridden Jung-Seok and Chul-min are recruited by Chinese mobsters for a mission with two other Koreans to return to the quarantined peninsula and retrieve an abandoned food truck which contains US$20 million in bags; if successful, they would receive a split of half of the money. The team arrives at the peninsula at night by boat and soon find the truck. They escape with the truck as zombies began chasing them.

On the way back to Incheon Port, they are ambushed by a rogue militia Unit 631, led by Sergeant Hwang. Jung-Seok is thrown out of the truck and Chul-min hides inside. The two other members of the team are killed, one as a result of the crash, and one by Sergeant Hwang. Jung-Seok is rescued by two sisters: Joon and her younger sister Yu-Jin. Joon drives to a hideout where the children live with their grandfather Elder Kim and mother Min-Jung - the latter, Jung-Seok realizes, who is the lady who pleaded for his help four years ago.

Meanwhile, the Unit 631 soldiers take the truck to their compound and imprison Chul-min upon discovering him in the back, forcing him to take part in a series of timed survival games between prisoners and the infected. Private Kim and Captain Seo discover the cash in the truck and secretly hatch a plan to escape the peninsula with the truck, keeping their plans a secret from Sgt. Hwang and the rest. Meanwhile, Min-Jung learns from Jung-Seok that there is a ship at Incheon Port waiting to extract him and the truck. She decides to steal the truck from the compound so that the five of them (her family and Jung-Seok) can escape.

The following evening, near Unit 631's compound, as Joon, Yu-jin, and Elder Kim wait in the car, Jung-seok and Min-jung sneak inside, where they discover the truck and encounter Private Kim. While holding Private Kim at gunpoint, Jung-seok learns that Chul-min is alive in the compound and goes to rescue him. He almost succeeds, but Chul-min is killed by Hwang while saving Jung-seok from being shot. Jung-Seok is saved by Min-jung, and the two escape the compound with the truck. Numerous Unit 631 soldiers, led by Hwang, give chase in their vehicles; Captain Seo, failing to commandeer the truck, shoots Private Kim dead and pursues the group separately in another vehicle. In the ensuing chase, Jung-Seok deliberately shoots and shatters a glass tunnel, freeing the horde of zombies inside, which overwhelm Hwang's vehicle.

The five reach Incheon Port when Seo rams his vehicle into Joon's car, then holds her at gunpoint. Yu-jin manages to distract Seo enough to allow Joon to escape, but he shoots Elder Kim as the latter tries to protect Yu-jin. Min-jung promptly attempts to shoot Seo, but is shot in the leg. Seo flees with the truck and drives into the cargo hold of the ship, but he is betrayed and shot by the mobsters, who had no intention of honoring the deal to begin with. As he dies, Seo reverses the truck to prevent the cargo hold's gate from closing, which allows the zombies outside to enter and kill everyone inside the ship.

After Elder Kim dies from his wounds, the remaining four spot a United Nations CH-47 (Chinook) helicopter flown by Malaysian UN troops and draw its attention. An injured Min-jung requests that Jung-Seok bring Joon and Yu-jin to the helicopter, while she clears the path of zombies. Min-jung then traps herself in a truck and presses on the horn repeatedly, intending to attract the zombies to her so that the three others can escape. Recalling an angry claim Chul-min made in Hong Kong that Jung-seok did not do his best to save their family four years ago, Jung-seok rescues Min-jung by dispatching some of the zombies that have trapped her in the truck. She quickly makes the run to the helicopter, while Jung-seok covers for her by shooting the zombie horde. The four board the helicopter and escape the peninsula.

Cast
A former South Korean Marine Corps Captain, who feels guilt for not saving his nephew and sister.
A mysterious lady who had seen Jung-seok four years back while attempting to get out of Korea.
The father of Min-jung, and grandfather of Jooni and Yu-jin, who attempts to radio out of Busan.
631 Rogue Military Unit Sergeant And The co-manager of an underground fight club, who leads alongside Seo.
631 Rogue Military Unit Captain 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, who helps Jung-seok get the cash.
The eldest daughter of Min-jung, who drives an armored car to help survivors.
  • Lee Ye-won 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, and who Jung-seok regrets for not saving.
  • Kim Kyu-baek as Private Kim
631 Rogue Military Unit Private and The vice leader of the underground fight club, and Seo's right-hand man.
  • Bella Rahim as Major Jane
The Malaysian UN soldier who is the first to rescue the four.

Release

Peninsula was selected to be shown at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.[7][8] 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 in the United States on 21 August 2020.[10] It was released in India on 27 November, 2020.[11]

Reception

Box office

As of 12 November 2020, Peninsula has 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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] By August 7, the film had grossed nearly $27 million in South Korea.[15] The film made around $100,000 from 47 theaters from its Canadian debut,[16] and $213,415 from 151 theaters the following weekend from its United States opening.[17]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 53% with an average rating of 6/10, based on 111 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."[18] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[19]

Anupama Chopra, Editor-in-Chief of Film Companion, wrote, "Despite some inspired sequences, Peninsula never hits the emotional high notes and claustrophobic tension of Train To Busan."[20]

References
  1. Franklin, Garth (2 April 2020). "Teaser: "Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula"". Dark Horizons. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  2. "Peninsula (2020)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  3. "Peninsula (2020)". The Numbers. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  4. Noh, Jean (23 March 2020). "First Look: 'Peninsula', Yeon Sang-ho's follow-up to 'Train To Busan' (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  5. "Korean films - Peninsula". BIFF. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  6. Herald, The Korea (15 July 2020). "[Herald Interview] Gang Dong-won falls for zombie genre while filming 'Peninsula'". The Korea Herald.
  7. "Cannes Film Festival Reveals 2020 Lineup: Wes Anderson, Steve McQueen, Kate Winslet & Pixar". Deadline. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  8. "The films of the Official Selection 2020". Cannes. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  9. "Cannes selects lineup for 2020 edition after 'physical' festival shelved". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  10. "'Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula' United States Opening Date Delayed". The Geekiary. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  11. "Korean zombie thriller 'Peninsula' to hit Indian screens on Nov 27". The Week.
  12. Tartaglione, Nancy (15 July 2020). "'Peninsula' Sets 2020 Opening Day High In Korea; Fleshes Out $4M+ Overseas Through Thursday – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  13. Tartaglione, Nancy (19 July 2020). "'Peninsula' Thrills To $21M In Overseas Bow; 'Train To Busan' Sequel Helps Imax Score First $1M Global Weekend Since March – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  14. Tartaglione, Nancy (26 July 2020). "'Dolittle' Tops $5M In China Bow As Market Sees Daily Increases; IMAX WW Takings Jump 30%, Boosted By Middle Kingdom & Korean 'Peninsula' – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  15. Tartaglione, Nancy (7 August 2020). "'1917' Leads Charge On China's 3rd Friday Back To The Movies – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  16. Anthony D'Alessandro (9 August 2020). "Shia LaBeouf Action Film 'The Tax Collector' Cashes In $317K At Weekend Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  17. Anthony D'Alessandro (22 August 2020). "'Unhinged' Sees Increased Business On Saturday For $4M Opening As Exhibition Turns Lights Back On". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  18. "Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  19. "Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  20. Chopra, Anupama (27 November 2020). "Peninsula Movie Review". Film Companion. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
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