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Honestly, Train to Busan being one of the best zombie movies ever, and having such a heartbreaking yet amazing ending (though it would have been nice if the sequel explored the state of the two surviving characters), it worked just being a singular film in my opinion, able to stand on its own without the other two movies. Which is probably why I praise and rewatch Train to Busan, while never feeling excitement to watch Seoul Station or Peninsula.
@@dimitrescu182 I have to agree, #Alive had plot and suspense I never expected from a zombie movie. But I still think both films are their own, great watches regardless if they're connected or not.
I have a feeling they knew beforehand they would never be able to top the absolute emotional ride that is Train to Busan so they just went 'ah screw it might as well go the complete opposite direction'
Overrated, bad story building between the father and daughter. Felt like they were just characters thrown together and we were given the narrative that he loves his daugther. Didn't care for his death. If you think his death was sad then you haven't watched enough korean movies.
Interesting that all three were directed by the same person. I guess sequels do suffer from a need to go "bigger and better", although expanding the scale without retaining (or even deepening) our attachment to the characters themselves (as you've aptly pointed out) seems to do more harm than good.
What? No way no possible way. That's not possible, well actually the same guts who made Avatar the last Airbender did make legend of korra. And speaking of Avatar, James Cameron did make that movie which isn't that great even after making terminator 1 and 2. So yeah I can see how talented individuals could make bad sequels.
Actually as artists we do have good and bad ideas, we have good and bad drawings, it's what makes us humans. So he had a mediocre first attempt, and then a very good second attempt, it's to be expected. HOWEVER, since Train to Busan was an unexpected global hit, I do believe he trapped himself into a creative corner because NOW he had to impress everybody and that's when he failed, but he failed taking some risks, I must give him that, he did a gamble that didn't pay off. But that's the fun part of being an artist, we kind of have good and bad days, it's kind of unfair consistency all the time. Every moviemaker has their duds.
@RM N when i watched Peninsula I never cared about the characters(Unlike Train to Busan) and I just wanted them to get eaten especially when they tried to be dramatic in the end it felt very hollywoodized or some sh*t like that.
I think you missed a part in Peninsula, in the beginning I remember they clearly showed that the Koreans who escaped were struggling in the outside world as many people saw them as monsters and didn't hire them/treated them badly. Their living conditions were pretty shite too. So it wouldn't be too far-fetched to make the connection that he is struggling in life and in need of salvation.
Man, the Train to Busan video essay was what introduced me to Accented Cinema. It’s pretty cool seeing this as a callback after so long. Thanks for making these high-quality videos about the film industry, you’ve really inspired me to dive into film appreciation and explore more genres.
I was not even aware Peninsula was meant to be a sequel to Train to Busan till I watched it. When it's pointed out to me and the movie said Busan was overrun I thought'well shit, what happened to the people we cared about on Train to Busan? We are not gonna find out? Seriously?'
I watched Seoul Station but entirely forgot it until this video. I will *never* forget Train to Busan. Greatest Zombie film ever and god knows the only one that made me tear up at the end.
It would be better for Train to Busan to remain as a standalone film and if a sequel is going to be made, they have to make sure that the follow up is as good as the original or make it better (after all, sequels rarely surpass the original with a couple of exceptions like The Godfather 2, Empire Strikes Back, Aliens and many more)
Technically the sequel doesn't ruin anything since it doesn't touch the first movie at all. Only the background is the same, there is a zombie apocalypse in Korea, that is it.
I watched Seoul Station the same day I watched Train To Busan for the first time. I barely remembered what happened in it. I also did not know there was sequel. Excellent video once again.
I really appreciate you talking about this - I loved Train to Busan (it's up there with Shaun of the Dead, or probably better) and I've been confused how the sequels could be so much less popular. It's a shame how sequels often seem to go that way!
In my opinion, tenet's biggest issue is that it had a great theme, it had the setup, but it failed to execute it's characters. Like who calls the main character "The Protagonist". I had the same issue with Shin Godzilla, movie with good theme and good setup but not the characters to back it all up.
I'd argue that Shin Godzilla is a movie about how humanity handles a natural disaster. By working together as a group, going at It from many different angles. From the scientific to the political point of views. But by making everyone work together, They can't show that one side is superior than the other. They need to work together to handle It. Which is why nobody stands out in the movie.
@@ridwana4037 nice point Ridwan, but this also shows how we all enjoy a film differently. That's the beauty of film. Don't get me wrong I enjoy tenet because how it shows some insignificant might help in fighting a big disaster. How one person who's insignificant can help when part of something bigger. But it has it's flaws. Your point gave me another view to shin Godzilla, that when fighting a huge disaster, a soldier and a citizen is equal. But I still would've liked the emotional impact of original Godzilla from 1954 (or do you call it Gojira?)
Im glad Tenet doesn't have much character. It let's you focus on the puzzle without being distracted by emotional drama. The puzzle is the real fun part of the movie.
@@comediangj4955 I think that's Nolan's techniques, his films are always like a puzzle. It's own type of film, but sometimes the puzzle itself can be really emotional like in Dunkirk.
I'd also have to argue against Shin Godzilla suffering this issue. In fact, I'm glad it focused more on a group/Japanese bureaucracy/disaster response than random individuals, which is my main issue with the American Godzilla movies. It was a much more interesting perspective and made it more of a Japan vs Godzilla angle
"The Terror Live" is fantasic!!!!! It looks like a Covid movie but the tension of the situation, limited locations, and vfx make it a great watch. Sometimes this kind of one location film can be boring but not this time!!!
"You mean a pimp risks his life in a zombie apocalypse just to track down an escaped prostitute?" As the famous saying from Mark Wahlberg goes: "you can't have a conscience in the pimp game".
I have been watching this director since king of pigs. Really love his first movies, and I cannot believe peninsula was made by the same guy, it's like comparing a real movie against a movie made by The asylum.
i really hate it when horror films become action films. they probably do better if they just made a different perspective from the time when train to busan happened. a sequel just doesn't have a good enough setting for a zombie movie. what makes zombie movies so great is the moment the outbreak meets the general public. the terror, the panic, the chase, the confusion, and how the characters collect themselves and prepare for a dangerous journey. this is also how you spot a great zombie movie, when the ending isn't a major turn-off / anticlimactic compared to the beginning of the outbreak.
you have really good and insightful analysis. you seem to have picked up on everything that the creator was attempting to convey and summarized it really nicely. drawing the parallel to the AIDs epidemic was spot on
4:08 I want to ask something. As you said, it's a zombie outbreak. People are supposed to be cruel especially someone like the main female character who, in her profession may already have seen some darkness. So won't it be more realistic to act like her rather than sudden change in attitude and perspective from just 1 moment? Just curious. Thanks
If she's someone who experienced harsh and expects cruelty, then the film has to established that first. And from there, they can show how her hardiness helps her survive. None of that happens, either. When she gets kicked out by her boyfriend, she cries and looks emotionally traumatized. So she clearly has her weakness. And that's also not explored.
@@chasinghaze0962 In essence - whatever your character is suppose to be, clarifying their characteristic by showing them is needed. Otherwise, audience will view them too much as just characters / strangers, instead of someone we know like friends that we care about. Emotional investment stuff.
I think it's worth watching despite this negative impression. I thought the protagonist was sympathetic and realistic/emotionally grounded. It was a really good execution of the character, and the story was well-suited to the medium. Personally I vastly prefer it to Train to Busan. It's just a different kind of story and different kind of protagonist.
When I watched peninsula, I was always waiting for a backstory flashback that will show some little kid or someone (that Junk seol knows) who needs treatment from illness or something but that never happened 🥲. it would have made the film lot more compelling, it would have been so good for him to struggle to chose between saving the survivors or getting the money back to save the kid.
he began conflicting when he purposely left the female characters stranded with her daughter, guilty but still choose to prioritize his own. also when he literally could save his sister but due to the shocked, froze and got his sister eaten. his brother in-law blame him for that, for making that up he tried to support his brother in law for money.
Yes, yes, and YES! The lack of "real" characters unfortunately sinks far too many movies these days. Your use of the term 'puppets' is perfect, because they are 100% there to serve some meta-need of the plot (drama! action! surprise twist!) and as such their actions don't even stem from anything feeling genuine. Worse, they are not even consistent, changing from moment to moment to suit the meta need and to set up some cheap technique. The characters have no agency, and there's no story being told; instead it's all light and shadow screaming "are you not entertained?!" Perhaps... but no matter how well done the techniques or how exciting the visuals, it's nevertheless remains meaningless to us, and by the time we've returned home we've forgotten 90% of the movie. Whereas movies with story + characters we'll remember and talk about for years. Thank you for this video! :)
The second one is such a drop in quality, the plotholes and logic fails were too many it hurts me when I watched it, havent watch the prequel tho, Imma give it a shot
Seoul Station is worth mentioning for setting a zombie film in South Korea (pretty novel when it came out), for the twist ending, and as the reason that Train to Busan got made. Good to see the roots, but definitely not a must-watch.
This is just my personal opinion, so I don't really have much to back up my feelings: I agree with a lot of what you said about the two movies (and personally complained about the movies a bit more than what you said), but I feel like Peninsula had a bit more. Recently, I felt like I betrayed a friend of mine and failed to redeem myself for it, and I suffered a bit for it. When I watched Peninsula the other day, I quite enjoyed the movie predominately because of the main character. I noticed the flaws with the character right away but in the end I actually liked him. He commited a "sin"/mistake, he suffered by losing his family, and had a chance to redeem himself and took it. Despite lacking other context on why he took redemption, I connected with him because of that and he sort of became a role model for me. I know I sound like I'm exaggerating, but I still enjoyed Peninsula a bit more than I expected. In the end, I agree with everything you said, but personally I think there is a bit of redeeming quality in Peninsula for me. Also I want to say, as someone who has watched your videos for nearly 5 years now: Thank you for being amazing!
“The moment he appears in Hong Kong, he looks fine.” This is no sideaway snark or something; seriously, if you cast Kang Dong-won it’s a bit hard to make the character look miserable or dejected. :P
It's excusable Seoul Station wasn't very good as it was the first outing, maybe lacking in experience and polish, but you would think after creating a near masterpiece that is train to busan, they'd know how to make a great or decent sequel. But no, we got utter crap that is Peninsula.
Maybe if you find time, you should make another video on some of the other works from that same director. He mostly directed animated movie (like Seoul Station), and in each case, the story is not only about the character, but is also a broader social commentary on the darker aspects of Korean society. My favorite one is "The Kind of Pigs" 돼지의왕 (the animated movie, not the live-action series). I strongly recommend it.
It's always about the characters and how relatable or not they are. If you mess that up, you pretty much lost the point and the good will of the audience.
One thing has always stuck out to me about Asian action movies. During fights, the protagonist is usually relaxed and calm, rather stoic. When we see John Wick, Jason Bourne or John Mcclane fighting, we fear for them, and they always give 100% to survive - Unlike most Asian movies. I just saw The Killer (2022) and the protagonist never seems to put in the effort to fight. Talking about Busan, you can see this difference. The people in the first film are always desperate. In Peninsula, they are not.
watch bruce lee movies from 1970s jackie chan and jet li they are all using practical and strong effects. You just mentioned korean movies they are mostly good at drama and not actions with exception from the admiral!
"No good deed goes unpunished" Yes, that is an issue in so much modern entertainment. So many guys will throw their lives away to save a girl, and she's all "meh.." and moves on like nothing happened, and like she never even knew those people. It's not only bad character development, but also paints a bad role model for women in general.
one common theme i've seen too many in Korean sequels is that it completely throw away what the original has built upon and just turn into some action movie
I don't really understand why Train to Busan: Peninsula had to be attached to the og train to busan to begin with. Without the "comedy" scenes and the pressure from its predecessor it could've been a decent movie honestly. Also shunji iwai analysis when????
I watched Train to Busan and Seoul Station back then, I still remember many things about the former like its characters while I almost forgot the latter exist, and when Peninsula came out no one seemed to talk about it around me(which is weird since the first one was so popular in my country, my school even screened the movie lol) Personally I think they could have gone more interesting direction for the sequel, I haven't watched Peninsula but the plot doesn't sound interesting to me,I know I should watch it before criticizing it but it feels so different from TTB in many ways, even judging by the trailers, IDK does anyone here recommend watching Peninsula?
i would recommend it if you like action-in-general and have some time to spend on. its still highlights about 'humanity' like the other two movies. it got some gun action bcs most of the characters survive was in the army and knew how to handle gun. unlike western movies where's everyone automatically knew how to handle a gun. its definitely different from ttb or ss since there's lot of heavy action going on compare to ttb and ss.
@@hanindhira peninsula sucked, its like ALIENS or T2 but never cared about the characters and I just wanted them to get eaten 🤣 they tried so hard to be dramatic at the end but wow just get chomped on by the zombies plz.
@@arvinjay336 that's why i say if you like action-in-general, where you watch it without thinking hard, basically an easy to watch movies, where even when you play on your phone the whole movie you still got the whole idea of the movie was about 🤷🏽♀️
I'm curious where you got the "5 Elements To Action" from? I don't necessarily disagree with them and they seem like good overall story guidelines. I just couldn't find them with a little searching and wanted to see more examples. Wanted to try to understand if they were solid overall guides, only applicable in certain circumstances, if focusing on a few of the points well might sometimes be better, etc.
They are just my personal observations. They were, in my experience, generally applicable but not hard and fast rules. A good example to counter this is the cold opening of The Dark Knight. We have not been introduced to the characters, and the bank heist has no clear stake a play. That entire action scene remains fascinating to watch, because as the event unfolds, we learn more and more about the Joker through the dialogue. It makes up for the lack of characters by building one in the middle of action.
6:53 damn, they used actual crash footage to make a CGI model??? That's a more dramatic version of the TransAsia Airways Flight GE235 crash, in Taiwan. I mean, it's very striking crash footage, but 31 people died. Seems pretty tacky.
one of the issues i had with peninsula is that the director was so scared with killing off the main cast when in in train to busan the MAIN character dies.
I think you are a little off on your analysis of the boyfriend and pimp characters. The boyfriend was pretty much bullied into going along and looking for her by the pimp. He wouldn't have gone alone otherwise, and tried at first to leave, just looking out for himself (at least, that is how I remember it). As far as the pimp, it seemed evident to me that she was for more than just an employee to this guy, and it was much more of a stalker level obsession. The kind of stalker that usually ends up in jail or dead, because common sense no longer plays a role in their decisions. In general, I think character development is often needed in storytelling, but also some stories for me are more experiential, and don't always need to show a character change. Especially over a few hours. I think it has to be context based. Train to Busan I feel had the space for that development, whereas I don't think Seoul Station needed it as much. For me it is: here are these people in this situation, how are they going to deal with it? But I know I in the minority when it comes to not always needing character growth in a story, depending on the subject and execution. Plus I don't believe most people really change much in real life any, especially over a short period of time. It takes years and repeating the same mistakes over and over again, that some people eventually stop and re-examine their lives. And even then can fall back in to the same bad patterns. I did actually really like Seoul Station (probably obvious by now), for many of the same positive aspects you stated, and found it fairly gripping. Peninsula, on the other hand... Wow. Such a disappointment. Thanks for the videos, though. I think your examinations are predominantly really strong and informative. And entertaining!
Speaking of good action, have you thought of making a video on The Raid (2011)? It's a really good action movie which I think encapsulates the 5 elements of action well.
They all have the same director but I'm more interesting in who the writers were. Sometimes checks and balances play a huge part in the quality of a movie. Hollywood is full of stories where a director was giving cart blanche after making something successful even though they didn't write the film that got them that blank check.
So, "stake(s)", in the gambling or business sense, is a very weird word grammatically for reasons I'm not completely sure of. As a verb, it behaves like you would expect. To "stake" something, in this sense, is to bet it on an outcome. The business sense of the noun works the same way. A person's "stake" in a venture is what they have put forward to support that venture, usually money. In the gambling context, it's weird. For some reason, I have never heard "stake" used as a singular noun in the context of a gamble. It's always plural. That is, the things being gambled on are "at stake", but the "stakes", plural, are what's being gambled on. My best guess as to why is that there's a presumption that the bet has multiple parties, even if one of the parties is inanimate or abstract. So in this case, the stakes are "the set of people who might survive", with the characters putting up their own lives in order to gamble that they can get their loved ones to safety, and the situation as a whole being their opponent. This has been your whatever-ly reminder that English is an incredibly complex and often confusingly referential naturally evolved medium of expression, even if it does often resemble something a person might design for that purpose.
Train to Busan bring the vibes the 28 days later not the sequel 28 weeks later. What makes difference in 28 days later its not zombie but humanity also in train to busan.
Thanks for this video. I have just watched Seoul Station and I liked it much. Maybe because of the social criticism and the dark jokes like the ending. But I didn't analized it the way you did. It would be nice if you review some other titles from Yeon Sang Ho. I've watched a couple of his animated films. King of pigs made my heart ache. Somebody told me he kinda lost a little of the social criticism in his live action films. That and time stopped me from watching them. But this video made me curious. Props to your channel. Saludos desde Perú.
I treak alck of character arcs very much according to each movie and character, because in reality not everyone, and I'd dare say almost nobody changes after a traumatic experience. We might have a very short moment of lucidity but we will go back to being our own selves. However in this case you hit the nail perfectly. While I think her character reacts naturally, specially if you take in account shock and fight or flight impulses, she would basically attach herself to her sense of normality. But then you see her exboyfriend wanna be pimp and you cant but wonder ¿Why the fuck would he act like that??? if anything he'd be using her father in order to scape the city maybe telling him she went to the country earlier and she is wafting for him outside of the city sot that he drive them both and then he can kick him out of the car or something.
When viewed through the lens of today’s “Alpha Male,” the pimp going into a zombie apocalypse to get the escaped prostitute makes perfect sense…it’s feels like the writer is making another commentary on mistreatment of marginalized women and a misogynistic entitlement of ownership of the prostitute; she’s not considered a person, she’s considered a commodity to be objectified and retrieved like a “thing.” Seoul Station is better than you’re giving it credit for, Accented. That oversight aside, great video essay, as usual.
Alright then, let’s take it from that angle. The pimp goes through the zombie apocalypse in order to retrieve an object. Now we’re supposed to believe that the object is so important to him that he’s willing to risk life and limb for it. As an audience member do we able to believe that he’d risk his life for his sandbag? No, which is why the idea is silly.
Isn't your gripes with Seoul Station's characters, like Ki-woong, are because of the their cultural background? If the boyfriend's point of view is normalized towards prostitution, which is some for the poorer people, he sees it as a normal job and having to get kicked out of home doesn't mean they really don't care about you (most SEA countries, I don't know in South Korea but this also occurs in Hong Kong, you can return in a couple of hours or days and just go on like nothing happened). And some characters really do not need any character development like Hye-sun especially during the outbreak when everyone's priority is just to survive which makes things realistic. Would love to discuss this as it would make a great discourse.
really disliked the live action sequel, it's also because i hold SK cinema to a different mode since most i happen to see are awesome. The animation while a generic film I did think the twist made the film amazing... his film THE FAKE is good tho, it would be nice to see more of his animated films with better animation then
I was so disappointed when I first saw the trailer for Peninsula and realised it was a CG-fest action movie, and disappointed again when I actually watched it. I'd honestly rather it wasn't made at all if it wasn't going to uphold the suspense of Train to Busan
Great Analysis. As per usual, coming up with quality content. I strongly disagree regarding Seoul Station. It was a good movie, almost on par with Train to Busan. But it wasn't marketed nor sold to U.S. western audiences. Who on top of being lazy when it comes to engage with foreign movies, see the animation medium as lesser. The lack of character arc, to me, is mostly because the main protagonist is who Korean society see as less. The people at the margins, who gets ignored, have to push through regardless of the hurt and pain. Because their default mode is survival. At least as far as the female character is concerned.
Am I the only who actually thinks Peninsula was a solid movie? Sure it wasn't as great as Train to Busan, but the concept was really cool, and overall, I thought it was neat!
I did not like Peninsula, everything you said I can agree, I especially did not like the ending as the music and slow motion feels like its forcing the audience to be sad. Even the antagonist is just a crazy person with no proper relatable goals and honestly forgettable like every single character in the movie.
Again, amazing video as always ❤️ I know you focus more on asian cinema but somehow I wanna hear your take on Squid Game and Alice in Borderlands If ever you seen it
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Honestly, Train to Busan being one of the best zombie movies ever, and having such a heartbreaking yet amazing ending (though it would have been nice if the sequel explored the state of the two surviving characters), it worked just being a singular film in my opinion, able to stand on its own without the other two movies. Which is probably why I praise and rewatch Train to Busan, while never feeling excitement to watch Seoul Station or Peninsula.
#Alive felt like a better sequel to Train to Busan than Peninsula.
@@dimitrescu182 I have to agree, #Alive had plot and suspense I never expected from a zombie movie. But I still think both films are their own, great watches regardless if they're connected or not.
I have a feeling they knew beforehand they would never be able to top the absolute emotional ride that is Train to Busan so they just went 'ah screw it might as well go the complete opposite direction'
Overrated, bad story building between the father and daughter. Felt like they were just characters thrown together and we were given the narrative that he loves his daugther. Didn't care for his death. If you think his death was sad then you haven't watched enough korean movies.
@UGO my fault for enjoying something bro. Next time I watch something, I'll make sure to ask for permission on whether or not I should enjoy it
7:56 'vaguely homoerotic zombie boy-band scene' were never words I ever expected to hear but thanks
2:04
Interesting that all three were directed by the same person. I guess sequels do suffer from a need to go "bigger and better", although expanding the scale without retaining (or even deepening) our attachment to the characters themselves (as you've aptly pointed out) seems to do more harm than good.
What? No way no possible way. That's not possible, well actually the same guts who made Avatar the last Airbender did make legend of korra. And speaking of Avatar, James Cameron did make that movie which isn't that great even after making terminator 1 and 2. So yeah I can see how talented individuals could make bad sequels.
Actually as artists we do have good and bad ideas, we have good and bad drawings, it's what makes us humans.
So he had a mediocre first attempt, and then a very good second attempt, it's to be expected.
HOWEVER, since Train to Busan was an unexpected global hit, I do believe he trapped himself into a creative corner because NOW he had to impress everybody and that's when he failed, but he failed taking some risks, I must give him that, he did a gamble that didn't pay off.
But that's the fun part of being an artist, we kind of have good and bad days, it's kind of unfair consistency all the time.
Every moviemaker has their duds.
@RM N when i watched Peninsula I never cared about the characters(Unlike Train to Busan) and I just wanted them to get eaten especially when they tried to be dramatic in the end it felt very hollywoodized or some sh*t like that.
@@justiron2999 korra is Overhated imo, it's not as great, and the second season is kinda bad, but season 3-4 are pretty good imo,
@@arvinjay336 lmaoo
That elbow he did to save the little girl was magnificent.
I think you missed a part in Peninsula, in the beginning I remember they clearly showed that the Koreans who escaped were struggling in the outside world as many people saw them as monsters and didn't hire them/treated them badly. Their living conditions were pretty shite too. So it wouldn't be too far-fetched to make the connection that he is struggling in life and in need of salvation.
So they're basically like the Eldians from Attack on Titan?
@@dimitrescu182 Well yes but they do not have powers to turn into actual monsters
But the scene lacks the emotional connection to relate the audience to the overall plot, and is more of an animated narration
Man, the Train to Busan video essay was what introduced me to Accented Cinema. It’s pretty cool seeing this as a callback after so long.
Thanks for making these high-quality videos about the film industry, you’ve really inspired me to dive into film appreciation and explore more genres.
I was not even aware Peninsula was meant to be a sequel to Train to Busan till I watched it. When it's pointed out to me and the movie said Busan was overrun I thought'well shit, what happened to the people we cared about on Train to Busan? We are not gonna find out? Seriously?'
I watched Seoul Station but entirely forgot it until this video. I will *never* forget Train to Busan. Greatest Zombie film ever and god knows the only one that made me tear up at the end.
It would be better for Train to Busan to remain as a standalone film and if a sequel is going to be made, they have to make sure that the follow up is as good as the original or make it better (after all, sequels rarely surpass the original with a couple of exceptions like The Godfather 2, Empire Strikes Back, Aliens and many more)
Technically the sequel doesn't ruin anything since it doesn't touch the first movie at all. Only the background is the same, there is a zombie apocalypse in Korea, that is it.
and T2 :D
@@randomguy2108yeah, the other two aren't prequel & sequel, they are spinoffs i guess?
Peninsula was my last theater experience before the pandemic. I was so desperate to go back to a theater as soon as I could to replace it in my mind 😂
I watched Seoul Station the same day I watched Train To Busan for the first time. I barely remembered what happened in it. I also did not know there was sequel. Excellent video once again.
Another outstanding essay, as is only to be expected from this channel.
Thank you for all of them.
I really appreciate you talking about this - I loved Train to Busan (it's up there with Shaun of the Dead, or probably better) and I've been confused how the sequels could be so much less popular. It's a shame how sequels often seem to go that way!
indeed, Shaun was fricking good
In my opinion, tenet's biggest issue is that it had a great theme, it had the setup, but it failed to execute it's characters. Like who calls the main character "The Protagonist". I had the same issue with Shin Godzilla, movie with good theme and good setup but not the characters to back it all up.
I'd argue that Shin Godzilla is a movie about how humanity handles a natural disaster. By working together as a group, going at It from many different angles. From the scientific to the political point of views.
But by making everyone work together, They can't show that one side is superior than the other. They need to work together to handle It. Which is why nobody stands out in the movie.
@@ridwana4037 nice point Ridwan, but this also shows how we all enjoy a film differently. That's the beauty of film. Don't get me wrong I enjoy tenet because how it shows some insignificant might help in fighting a big disaster. How one person who's insignificant can help when part of something bigger. But it has it's flaws. Your point gave me another view to shin Godzilla, that when fighting a huge disaster, a soldier and a citizen is equal. But I still would've liked the emotional impact of original Godzilla from 1954 (or do you call it Gojira?)
Im glad Tenet doesn't have much character. It let's you focus on the puzzle without being distracted by emotional drama. The puzzle is the real fun part of the movie.
@@comediangj4955 I think that's Nolan's techniques, his films are always like a puzzle. It's own type of film, but sometimes the puzzle itself can be really emotional like in Dunkirk.
I'd also have to argue against Shin Godzilla suffering this issue. In fact, I'm glad it focused more on a group/Japanese bureaucracy/disaster response than random individuals, which is my main issue with the American Godzilla movies. It was a much more interesting perspective and made it more of a Japan vs Godzilla angle
An Accented Cinema video not sponsored by SquareSpace??? 2023 already off to a wild start.
Thanks!
I agree, Train to Busan definitely had me intrigued and completely hooked because of characters
"The Terror Live" is fantasic!!!!! It looks like a Covid movie but the tension of the situation, limited locations, and vfx make it a great watch. Sometimes this kind of one location film can be boring but not this time!!!
"You mean a pimp risks his life in a zombie apocalypse just to track down an escaped prostitute?"
As the famous saying from Mark Wahlberg goes: "you can't have a conscience in the pimp game".
Love your channel and this video. I couldn’t put my frustrations about the two films better. Please do a video about Tenet next!
I have been watching this director since king of pigs. Really love his first movies, and I cannot believe peninsula was made by the same guy, it's like comparing a real movie against a movie made by The asylum.
i really hate it when horror films become action films.
they probably do better if they just made a different perspective from the time when train to busan happened. a sequel just doesn't have a good enough setting for a zombie movie.
what makes zombie movies so great is the moment the outbreak meets the general public. the terror, the panic, the chase, the confusion, and how the characters collect themselves and prepare for a dangerous journey. this is also how you spot a great zombie movie, when the ending isn't a major turn-off / anticlimactic compared to the beginning of the outbreak.
Another great video, I continue to really appreciate your thoughts you bring to the table.
you have really good and insightful analysis. you seem to have picked up on everything that the creator was attempting to convey and summarized it really nicely. drawing the parallel to the AIDs epidemic was spot on
great video glad I found you're channel
Thank you. An enjoyable and well thought out comparison.
The number of times I yelled "CLOSE THE DAMNED DOORS", while watching Seoul Station 💆🏻♀️
I actually watched train to Busan on your advice, even though zombie flicks aren't my cup of tea.
Great analysis!
I really enjoy your video essays. Thank you!!
Perfectly timed Tenet burn.
4:08 I want to ask something. As you said, it's a zombie outbreak. People are supposed to be cruel especially someone like the main female character who, in her profession may already have seen some darkness. So won't it be more realistic to act like her rather than sudden change in attitude and perspective from just 1 moment? Just curious. Thanks
If she's someone who experienced harsh and expects cruelty, then the film has to established that first. And from there, they can show how her hardiness helps her survive. None of that happens, either.
When she gets kicked out by her boyfriend, she cries and looks emotionally traumatized. So she clearly has her weakness. And that's also not explored.
@@AccentedCinema Wow thanks for the reply. I see what you are talking about now more clearly.
@@chasinghaze0962 In essence - whatever your character is suppose to be, clarifying their characteristic by showing them is needed. Otherwise, audience will view them too much as just characters / strangers, instead of someone we know like friends that we care about. Emotional investment stuff.
@@Bloodark124 I see. Thanks
I think it's worth watching despite this negative impression. I thought the protagonist was sympathetic and realistic/emotionally grounded. It was a really good execution of the character, and the story was well-suited to the medium. Personally I vastly prefer it to Train to Busan. It's just a different kind of story and different kind of protagonist.
When I watched peninsula, I was always waiting for a backstory flashback that will show some little kid or someone (that Junk seol knows) who needs treatment from illness or something but that never happened 🥲. it would have made the film lot more compelling, it would have been so good for him to struggle to chose between saving the survivors or getting the money back to save the kid.
he began conflicting when he purposely left the female characters stranded with her daughter, guilty but still choose to prioritize his own. also when he literally could save his sister but due to the shocked, froze and got his sister eaten. his brother in-law blame him for that, for making that up he tried to support his brother in law for money.
Yes, yes, and YES! The lack of "real" characters unfortunately sinks far too many movies these days. Your use of the term 'puppets' is perfect, because they are 100% there to serve some meta-need of the plot (drama! action! surprise twist!) and as such their actions don't even stem from anything feeling genuine. Worse, they are not even consistent, changing from moment to moment to suit the meta need and to set up some cheap technique. The characters have no agency, and there's no story being told; instead it's all light and shadow screaming "are you not entertained?!" Perhaps... but no matter how well done the techniques or how exciting the visuals, it's nevertheless remains meaningless to us, and by the time we've returned home we've forgotten 90% of the movie. Whereas movies with story + characters we'll remember and talk about for years. Thank you for this video! :)
I had to do a double take when I did not hear Squarespace being a sponsor.
The second one is such a drop in quality, the plotholes and logic fails were too many it hurts me when I watched it, havent watch the prequel tho, Imma give it a shot
I love the Train to Busan animated prequel, I wasn't expecting that ending too. A definite must watch if you're in to storytelling.
Seoul Station is worth mentioning for setting a zombie film in South Korea (pretty novel when it came out), for the twist ending, and as the reason that Train to Busan got made. Good to see the roots, but definitely not a must-watch.
not really a must-watch
This is just my personal opinion, so I don't really have much to back up my feelings:
I agree with a lot of what you said about the two movies (and personally complained about the movies a bit more than what you said), but I feel like Peninsula had a bit more. Recently, I felt like I betrayed a friend of mine and failed to redeem myself for it, and I suffered a bit for it. When I watched Peninsula the other day, I quite enjoyed the movie predominately because of the main character. I noticed the flaws with the character right away but in the end I actually liked him. He commited a "sin"/mistake, he suffered by losing his family, and had a chance to redeem himself and took it. Despite lacking other context on why he took redemption, I connected with him because of that and he sort of became a role model for me. I know I sound like I'm exaggerating, but I still enjoyed Peninsula a bit more than I expected.
In the end, I agree with everything you said, but personally I think there is a bit of redeeming quality in Peninsula for me. Also I want to say, as someone who has watched your videos for nearly 5 years now: Thank you for being amazing!
I haven't watched Seoul Station and i watched Pennisula without any expectations so i wasn't disappointed.
It was alright for me
Plane to Busan
Car to Busan
Mule to Busan
Shoes to Busan?
Train 2 Busan
Can't wait to fight zombie mules that's sounds great
Bus to Busan.
@@peterfrank3365 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Train under Busan
“The moment he appears in Hong Kong, he looks fine.”
This is no sideaway snark or something; seriously, if you cast Kang Dong-won it’s a bit hard to make the character look miserable or dejected. :P
It's excusable Seoul Station wasn't very good as it was the first outing, maybe lacking in experience and polish, but you would think after creating a near masterpiece that is train to busan, they'd know how to make a great or decent sequel. But no, we got utter crap that is Peninsula.
Maybe if you find time, you should make another video on some of the other works from that same director. He mostly directed animated movie (like Seoul Station), and in each case, the story is not only about the character, but is also a broader social commentary on the darker aspects of Korean society.
My favorite one is "The Kind of Pigs" 돼지의왕 (the animated movie, not the live-action series). I strongly recommend it.
It's always about the characters and how relatable or not they are. If you mess that up, you pretty much lost the point and the good will of the audience.
they messed it up in peninsula and I just wished the zombies ate all of them in the sequel hahaha
I wonder what the director would react after they watch this video.
One thing has always stuck out to me about Asian action movies. During fights, the protagonist is usually relaxed and calm, rather stoic. When we see John Wick, Jason Bourne or John Mcclane fighting, we fear for them, and they always give 100% to survive - Unlike most Asian movies. I just saw The Killer (2022) and the protagonist never seems to put in the effort to fight. Talking about Busan, you can see this difference. The people in the first film are always desperate. In Peninsula, they are not.
Uh, you have to expand your Asian-movie watching experience then
watch bruce lee movies from 1970s jackie chan and jet li they are all using practical and strong effects. You just mentioned korean movies they are mostly good at drama and not actions with exception from the admiral!
@@jolojrdook1419 Ummm ... No. Lots of good Korean action movies.
if there is a sequel to Train to Busan
That would be #alive
#alive is no way near as good as Train to Busan, it's just a wannabe...
@@realbobby7677 alive is not a wannabe cause it never tried to be train to busan.
"No good deed goes unpunished"
Yes, that is an issue in so much modern entertainment. So many guys will throw their lives away to save a girl, and she's all "meh.." and moves on like nothing happened, and like she never even knew those people. It's not only bad character development, but also paints a bad role model for women in general.
one common theme i've seen too many in Korean sequels is that it completely throw away what the original has built upon and just turn into some action movie
I don't really understand why Train to Busan: Peninsula had to be attached to the og train to busan to begin with. Without the "comedy" scenes and the pressure from its predecessor it could've been a decent movie honestly.
Also shunji iwai analysis when????
I watched Train to Busan and Seoul Station back then, I still remember many things about the former like its characters while I almost forgot the latter exist, and when Peninsula came out no one seemed to talk about it around me(which is weird since the first one was so popular in my country, my school even screened the movie lol)
Personally I think they could have gone more interesting direction for the sequel, I haven't watched Peninsula but the plot doesn't sound interesting to me,I know I should watch it before criticizing it but it feels so different from TTB in many ways, even judging by the trailers, IDK does anyone here recommend watching Peninsula?
i would recommend it if you like action-in-general and have some time to spend on. its still highlights about 'humanity' like the other two movies. it got some gun action bcs most of the characters survive was in the army and knew how to handle gun. unlike western movies where's everyone automatically knew how to handle a gun.
its definitely different from ttb or ss since there's lot of heavy action going on compare to ttb and ss.
it's good enough to be copied (some even said plagiarized) by a Hollywood movie: Army of the Dead, lol.
i dont recommend it.
@@hanindhira peninsula sucked, its like ALIENS or T2 but never cared about the characters and I just wanted them to get eaten 🤣 they tried so hard to be dramatic at the end but wow just get chomped on by the zombies plz.
@@arvinjay336 that's why i say if you like action-in-general, where you watch it without thinking hard, basically an easy to watch movies, where even when you play on your phone the whole movie you still got the whole idea of the movie was about 🤷🏽♀️
I see it as a cashgrab reliving the momentum of Train to Busan's.
Do a video essay about Jack Neo and the Singapore industry.
I'm curious where you got the "5 Elements To Action" from? I don't necessarily disagree with them and they seem like good overall story guidelines. I just couldn't find them with a little searching and wanted to see more examples. Wanted to try to understand if they were solid overall guides, only applicable in certain circumstances, if focusing on a few of the points well might sometimes be better, etc.
yeah, had the same thought, I think they are his 5 elements to action, not something rooted in established theory.
They are just my personal observations. They were, in my experience, generally applicable but not hard and fast rules.
A good example to counter this is the cold opening of The Dark Knight. We have not been introduced to the characters, and the bank heist has no clear stake a play. That entire action scene remains fascinating to watch, because as the event unfolds, we learn more and more about the Joker through the dialogue. It makes up for the lack of characters by building one in the middle of action.
Zombie boyband scene. Sounds like a spinoff of Zombieland Saga (the idol anime about zombie girls).
6:46 post ad Chapter 2
12:14 Conclusion - stories are about human characters
6:53
damn, they used actual crash footage to make a CGI model??? That's a more dramatic version of the TransAsia Airways Flight GE235 crash, in Taiwan. I mean, it's very striking crash footage, but 31 people died. Seems pretty tacky.
one of the issues i had with peninsula is that the director was so scared with killing off the main cast when in in train to busan the MAIN character dies.
I think you are a little off on your analysis of the boyfriend and pimp characters. The boyfriend was pretty much bullied into going along and looking for her by the pimp. He wouldn't have gone alone otherwise, and tried at first to leave, just looking out for himself (at least, that is how I remember it). As far as the pimp, it seemed evident to me that she was for more than just an employee to this guy, and it was much more of a stalker level obsession. The kind of stalker that usually ends up in jail or dead, because common sense no longer plays a role in their decisions.
In general, I think character development is often needed in storytelling, but also some stories for me are more experiential, and don't always need to show a character change. Especially over a few hours. I think it has to be context based. Train to Busan I feel had the space for that development, whereas I don't think Seoul Station needed it as much. For me it is: here are these people in this situation, how are they going to deal with it? But I know I in the minority when it comes to not always needing character growth in a story, depending on the subject and execution.
Plus I don't believe most people really change much in real life any, especially over a short period of time. It takes years and repeating the same mistakes over and over again, that some people eventually stop and re-examine their lives. And even then can fall back in to the same bad patterns.
I did actually really like Seoul Station (probably obvious by now), for many of the same positive aspects you stated, and found it fairly gripping. Peninsula, on the other hand... Wow. Such a disappointment.
Thanks for the videos, though. I think your examinations are predominantly really strong and informative. And entertaining!
Speaking of good action, have you thought of making a video on The Raid (2011)? It's a really good action movie which I think encapsulates the 5 elements of action well.
You made the Train to Busan video years ago? We're getting old
They all have the same director but I'm more interesting in who the writers were. Sometimes checks and balances play a huge part in the quality of a movie. Hollywood is full of stories where a director was giving cart blanche after making something successful even though they didn't write the film that got them that blank check.
I didn’t know Seoul station was a part of train to busan.
Woah I didn't know Obama was in Seoul Station!
So, "stake(s)", in the gambling or business sense, is a very weird word grammatically for reasons I'm not completely sure of. As a verb, it behaves like you would expect. To "stake" something, in this sense, is to bet it on an outcome. The business sense of the noun works the same way. A person's "stake" in a venture is what they have put forward to support that venture, usually money. In the gambling context, it's weird. For some reason, I have never heard "stake" used as a singular noun in the context of a gamble. It's always plural. That is, the things being gambled on are "at stake", but the "stakes", plural, are what's being gambled on. My best guess as to why is that there's a presumption that the bet has multiple parties, even if one of the parties is inanimate or abstract. So in this case, the stakes are "the set of people who might survive", with the characters putting up their own lives in order to gamble that they can get their loved ones to safety, and the situation as a whole being their opponent.
This has been your whatever-ly reminder that English is an incredibly complex and often confusingly referential naturally evolved medium of expression, even if it does often resemble something a person might design for that purpose.
"A committed plans" What happened there? Lol
Yes.
I did know of & enjoy Seoul Station, but never heard of Peninsula
Hope the western remake "The Last Train to New York" is good. Optimistically speaking.
I've never seen a pregnant running so fast in a zombie movie like in Train to Busan
Train to Busan bring the vibes the 28 days later not the sequel 28 weeks later. What makes difference in 28 days later its not zombie but humanity also in train to busan.
Thanks for this video. I have just watched Seoul Station and I liked it much. Maybe because of the social criticism and the dark jokes like the ending. But I didn't analized it the way you did. It would be nice if you review some other titles from Yeon Sang Ho. I've watched a couple of his animated films. King of pigs made my heart ache. Somebody told me he kinda lost a little of the social criticism in his live action films. That and time stopped me from watching them. But this video made me curious. Props to your channel. Saludos desde Perú.
I liked Seoul Station too. It’s portrayal of the spread was terrifying
Shows abuse and impoverishment as real plagues
I treak alck of character arcs very much according to each movie and character, because in reality not everyone, and I'd dare say almost nobody changes after a traumatic experience. We might have a very short moment of lucidity but we will go back to being our own selves. However in this case you hit the nail perfectly. While I think her character reacts naturally, specially if you take in account shock and fight or flight impulses, she would basically attach herself to her sense of normality. But then you see her exboyfriend wanna be pimp and you cant but wonder ¿Why the fuck would he act like that??? if anything he'd be using her father in order to scape the city maybe telling him she went to the country earlier and she is wafting for him outside of the city sot that he drive them both and then he can kick him out of the car or something.
When viewed through the lens of today’s “Alpha Male,” the pimp going into a zombie apocalypse to get the escaped prostitute makes perfect sense…it’s feels like the writer is making another commentary on mistreatment of marginalized women and a misogynistic entitlement of ownership of the prostitute; she’s not considered a person, she’s considered a commodity to be objectified and retrieved like a “thing.” Seoul Station is better than you’re giving it credit for, Accented. That oversight aside, great video essay, as usual.
Alright then, let’s take it from that angle. The pimp goes through the zombie apocalypse in order to retrieve an object. Now we’re supposed to believe that the object is so important to him that he’s willing to risk life and limb for it. As an audience member do we able to believe that he’d risk his life for his sandbag? No, which is why the idea is silly.
In that view, the object is expendable and always can be replaced by other objects. Then why does he risk himself? That dosen't make sense.
Isn't your gripes with Seoul Station's characters, like Ki-woong, are because of the their cultural background?
If the boyfriend's point of view is normalized towards prostitution, which is some for the poorer people, he sees it as a normal job and having to get kicked out of home doesn't mean they really don't care about you (most SEA countries, I don't know in South Korea but this also occurs in Hong Kong, you can return in a couple of hours or days and just go on like nothing happened). And some characters really do not need any character development like Hye-sun especially during the outbreak when everyone's priority is just to survive which makes things realistic.
Would love to discuss this as it would make a great discourse.
Im always considering all of us are dead series as Train To Busan sequels or at least , a gaiden , side story. While Kingdoms series as the prequel.
Thank you for stating that tenet was ass 🙏 that whole movie was Christopher Nolan saying "look at me!"
A plot to guide the script progression.
Im glad you also think Tenet is ass.
Seoul Station was good. It has a good story. Peninsula on the other hand lacks the story, acting, and characters. It does have good action.
Is it a BBBA reference? Babe Bizarre Adventures!
Trains and Bus'in... what about Planes
LOL! "A bit of an edgelord." 🤣
really disliked the live action sequel, it's also because i hold SK cinema to a different mode since most i happen to see are awesome. The animation while a generic film I did think the twist made the film amazing... his film THE FAKE is good tho, it would be nice to see more of his animated films with better animation then
I was so disappointed when I first saw the trailer for Peninsula and realised it was a CG-fest action movie, and disappointed again when I actually watched it. I'd honestly rather it wasn't made at all if it wasn't going to uphold the suspense of Train to Busan
What's your thoughts on Train to Busan remake tho?
wait a minute , you are from Canada??? (I am new to the channel if you have already mentioned it in any previous videos)
Not Obama 😂, but thank you for telling me about those other two movies, I loved Train To Busan
Ah yes Seoul Station otherwise known as close the door
Great Analysis. As per usual, coming up with quality content.
I strongly disagree regarding Seoul Station.
It was a good movie, almost on par with Train to Busan.
But it wasn't marketed nor sold to U.S. western audiences.
Who on top of being lazy when it comes to engage with foreign movies, see the animation medium as lesser.
The lack of character arc, to me, is mostly because the main protagonist is who Korean society see as less.
The people at the margins, who gets ignored, have to push through regardless of the hurt and pain.
Because their default mode is survival.
At least as far as the female character is concerned.
Seoul station was ok and peninsula was blah at best (solid action movie) but blah as a follow up to train to Busan.
Am I the only who actually thinks Peninsula was a solid movie?
Sure it wasn't as great as Train to Busan, but the concept was really cool, and overall, I thought it was neat!
I agree 👍🏿
Bad thing about peninsula is, they bring the title train to busan sequel
I liked it more than Busan tbh.
Problem is if it is part 2 than people will always compare it with original. Peninsula is good movie on it own. Just not good as 1st.
I was so frustrated by Peninsula It was so close to being good, even great but it just missed the mark. So close and yet so far.
I did not like Peninsula, everything you said I can agree, I especially did not like the ending as the music and slow motion feels like its forcing the audience to be sad. Even the antagonist is just a crazy person with no proper relatable goals and honestly forgettable like every single character in the movie.
Talking about zombie movies from South Korea I'm hoping you wouldn't mind doing a video on all of us are dead
I kind of want a video about Babe now...
Good vid
Again, amazing video as always ❤️ I know you focus more on asian cinema but somehow I wanna hear your take on Squid Game and Alice in Borderlands If ever you seen it
My man... hell yes a pimp is going to go out and find one of his women during the zombie apocalypse.
PROTIP: No-one should ever ever EVER EVER !!!!!!!!!! EVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!! care what critics say.