Train to Busan

Male Lead: Gong Yoo
Also Starring: Jung Yumi, Ma Dongseok
Year Released: 2016
Genre: Action, Adventure
Country: Korea
Where I Watched It: Netflix
Recommended By: Chase

Train to Busan is a harrowing zombie horror-thriller that follows a group of terrified passengers fighting their way throughout a countrywide viral outbreak, trapped on a suspicion-filled, blood-drenched bullet train ride to the Safe Zone…which may or may not still be there.

One Sunday, during quarantine, the kids were trying to figure out which movie to watch and decided on this one. I sat down to watch it with them and had no clue what the movie was about, who was in it, and once it started, what anyone was saying. None of that stuff seemed to matter once the movie started because I was hooked almost from the jump.

This movie is about an overworked and low key neglectful father named Seok Woo who takes his daughter, Su An, to see her mother in Busan. He seems to be the kind of person who puts work above everything in his life, including his family, but when he can’t ignore his daughter’s cry for her mother, he books them both tickets on a train to Busan to reunite them. When a freaking zombie outbreak happens, the only safe place is on the train and as far as anyone can tell, Busan. So they all press forward in hopes to beat the zombies to Busan.

Through the beginning of the movie and even when things start to heat up on the train, I looked like Gong Yoo did in the gif above. I kept wanting him to get his shit together, stop being a selfish piece of shit and pull his weight. When the zombies attack, Seok Woo is still only worried about himself, about his work, and about his daughter. In that order. When the zombies start getting closer and closer, Seok Woo really comes into his own. He rises from that fine ass piece of shit in the beginning, into one of the good guys and I would have loved the hell out of him, if in the end, he didn’t freaking go out the way that he did. I was yelling at the TV screen so much because come on, you idiot! He lived through every single one of the zombie attacks and just kept finding ways to overcome them and then when all is said and done, he’s just a freaking idiot.

I will say that this movie was entertaining as shit. It was filled with great characters, fantastic bad guys and there’s a lot of action and adventure going on so there’s much to enjoy. My favorite characters were these guys:

When the big guy gets pissed off at Seok Woo, I was glad because I wanted to kick Seok Woo’s fine ass right in the nuts. Seeing the three of these guys ban together to save as many people as they can from the zombies made for a good time. They were kicking ass and taking names and my heart went out to each of them as they fought in each fight, at the same time they were grieving their friends and family. I hear that there’s going to be a sequel to this movie and that Gong Yoo is in it so I’m going to watch it as soon as I can because I love me some Gong Yoo. He is at the top of my Korean loves list. Hot damn, that man is gorgeous.

I would so drink his dirty water so I’m glad that I watched this movie because there was fantastic eye candy, some zombie fighting action and a cute little girl that I wanted to save my damn self. There’s enough in this movie for everyone to enjoy and I definitely recommend it. This would have gotten 5 stars if that ending had been different. I love everything except the bad guys, the zombies, and that ending. Ehhh…

Final Rating

4 out of 5