Train to Busan

In terms of craftsmanship, Train to Busan is excellent, with interesting plot twists in the ingenious opening scene and a pleasantly prolonged ending intended to give viewers as much of the train as possible. Only the middle third is rather laid-back (the zombies are suddenly slower and can be beaten with fists because we can’t resolve the situation otherwise in the screenplay). And those Asian emotions again go over my head. The characters are archetypally okay and all of the relationships and their tense moments work, except for the main one. When, in the most dramatic and would-be heart-rending scene, the father flashbacks to the kitschily over-lit birth of his daughter, with whom he has been on the train ride to Busan through the whole film, it was the only time the movie made me laugh out loud. Which was surely not the intended result. (14.04.2020)

The tension was brutal; there hasn’t been such a good zombie flick in years. The reviews often, and correctly, compare it to Snowpiercer and World War Z; Train to Busan is a first-class hybrid of both, which unfortunately applies only to the almost perfect first half, but when it reaches its destination, it’s already second class. The social criticism typical of zombie films is almost surprisingly wanting. There are some redundant revelations and melodramatic moments that slow down what up to that point was an exceptionally driven catastrophic steamroller (and stretch the run to a slightly excessive two hours). But the positive impression certainly remains. (12.09.2016)

The first half goes by like a frightened cadaver express - building tension / "mandatory" genre scenes in maximum harmony, as well as interesting characters drawn on a small area. The level layout of the wagons and the work with the claustrophobic space add tension. It's a pity that Yeoon can't resist and pulls out the first heart-breaking scene in the middle - with the right character, in the wrong place and with unnecessarily whipped emotions. When he repeats it at the end, it works much better. The social critique of selfish establishment and the highlighting of ordinary people is just straightforward enough, and Soo-an Kim as the main child protagonist is great... The result is a pure nail-biter, which I have not seen from Hollywood for a long time. In terms of Korean films, it's actually an unusually pure genre film, which I really enjoyed. (28.12.2016)

Maybe zombies aren't so boring after all? It's definitely a win here for me that the filmmakers focused purely on action, with a dash of emotion of course, it wouldn't have worked without it. No complicated rules, no hero trying to save the world, no vaccines. Just a train going to Busan and a few passengers on it. The rest is simple.... Don't get bitten and survive. A strong 4 stars. (13.12.2016)

I wasn’t very far to let myself get carried away to the highest rating. Train to Busan has everything a quality zombie survival flick should boast, and thanks to the inventive direction full of unorthodox ideas and a script that manages to treat even the through-and-through good guys in a completely uncompromising and surprising way, it has something extra at times. If it had been made in Hollywood by a filmmaker like Antoine Fuqua, it would have been a massive box office hit. In the closing twenty minutes I could barely breath. 85% (04.08.2017)

Train to Busan is an incredible surprise for me and a demonstration that the zombie genre should never be underestimated because there are always authors capable of handling the material in a way that keeps you entertained. Sang-ho Yeon proved it and with Seoul Station, he showed that there are still possibilities for the zombie genre. Moreover, it even dares to throw in some nods to classics, like in the finale when the soldier aims at the last survivors. (04.02.2017)