This article was first published on the public account [Star Storage Tank]
Five years ago, a Korean zombie-themed movie "Train to Busan" became a hit. Today, five years later, the long-awaited "Train to Busan 2: Peninsula" is finally released. As the saying goes, the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment, and sure enough, the word of mouth of "Cattle 2" really hit the street. The only bright spot is that the second part is indeed more expensive than the first in production.
In fact, "Cattle 2" is not so bad. At least the plot outline given before the release makes me a little bit looking forward to the sequel to this movie. But it is difficult to break through the height of the first part, which is certain.
When "Train to Busan" was first launched in 2016, it completely broke the claim that there are no zombie films in Asia. The film can not only compete with foreign zombie films in terms of visual effects, but also has a story with themes, thoughts and connotations, and also breaks away from the B-level film routine that zombie films have always pursued violent and bloody.
Shuo Yu, a manager of a securities company played by Gong Yoo, is a typical upper-class elite with obvious refined egoism. However, the character creation can be described as having a degree of commitment. From the selfishness at the beginning, the change of belief in extreme circumstances, to the final self-sacrifice, the audience can start from Shuoyu's inner perspective and feel every difference on the train. human face.
It is also an escalation of disaster. The story truly depicts the battle between the most superficial human and corpse. The reason why the movie suddenly became a hit in that year is that it is not a zombie movie that simply stimulates the audience to seek visual stimulation. What is commendable is that the movie uses the theme of zombies to cut into the thinking of society, human nature, politics and scientific ethics.
Perhaps because the first "Train to Busan" was so successful, it is not surprising to continue to make money on the basis of word of mouth. Although the first "Train to Busan" movie presented an open ending to the audience, on the whole, "Train to Busan" is already a very complete story. If you want to continue to create on the basis of the original story, it can only be an increasingly embarrassing road of no return. Fortunately, director Yan Shanghao is a smart person. He chose to open up a new story line at the end of the original story and continue to create.
In fact, the story frame of "Cauldron 2" is actually not too problematic. Even in the borderless land where zombies are rampant, it is a drawing board full of imagination and creative space. But one of the key reasons why "Caulder 2" is criticized by most netizens is that this film is already a purely commercial routine.
All the characters in "Cauldron 2" have completely lost the full, diverse, and authentic characteristics of the first one. The motives of the characters' actions are either unclear or improvised, and even the sensationalism in the play seems extremely cheap.
In addition to the characters being portrayed mediocrely, even the story is too flat. Wherever the plot point goes, it is to pave the way for the visual effects that follow. The entire movie leaves the audience with only a dark night scene full of zombie special effects and a "Speed and Passion"-style drag racing drama.
Perhaps it is because of the success of the first part that the second part has enough capital to produce amazing and exciting special effects scenes. Therefore, the second part seems to be particularly careless about the theme and characterization. In terms of vision, it is really good, and 80% of the scenes in the whole film are concentrated in the dark night. It is not an easy task to promote the dark night scenes well.
In addition, this is a commercial blockbuster released after the impact of the global film industry after the epidemic, and the theme also just fits the topic of human infectious diseases, so that "Cattle 2" has the advantage of the right time and place. Even though word-of-mouth hit the streets, the box office still gave good feedback.
It is also a zombie-themed movie. This year, another zombie-themed movie in South Korea, "#Alive", is significantly better than "Cattle 2".
"#Alive" is a story about how to survive tactfully under a crazy disaster. From the perspective of Junyu, an e-sports player played by Liu Yaren, the film shows how to stay safe at home under the disaster of the spread of zombies, and at the same time deal with the increasingly depleted food, as well as the disconnection of the Internet, power outage, and even water outage. In short, the story is a little bit. It means to survive on a desert island.
The story looks at the crisis from the will to survive completely. Especially in this year's epidemic, most people have experienced the experience of being trapped at home, and there are more profound scenes to watch. Secondly, in the process of fighting against zombies, the characters did not preach too much about the great idea of sacrificing oneself and fulfilling others. There is only one motive throughout the film - to live.
The film does not use a large frame to tell the story, and most of the scenes are either concentrated in the indoor suites of Bailaiping, or in not too large residential communities. All information about the outside world is also communicated through the Internet, SNS, TV, and even radio. But this kind of strong point-of-view story description is especially easy for the audience to fall into a dull mood. Fortunately, Liu Yaren's progressive and unpretentious acting skills allow the audience to follow Junyu's emotions and enter the plot.
In terms of story creativity and character characterization, "#Live" obviously beats "Cattle 2", but the audience does not seem to buy "#Live" in particular. The key point is that "#Alive" is more creative writing like a propositional composition. Although it uses a typical Asian horror film thriller, and the makeup is more realistic, it is destined to not give the audience the visual stimulation that the audience wants in a small format. . The movie not only wants to express the state of the characters, but also wants to show the tension of the zombie hunt, but it makes the movie unbalanced.
"Cattle 2" is also a popcorn commercial after all, even if the story hits the streets, but at least it satisfies the audience's hunger for a sensory stimulation after returning to the cinema, especially in 2020, the most difficult year for the film industry.
In general, the two heavyweight zombie movies in South Korea this year want to break the classic status of the first "Train to Busan", and the difference is really more than that. But for this year's slightly deserted state, I'm content. Moreover, it is not easy for South Korea to launch two zombie films with completely different styles at the same time. The status of Asian zombie films, South Korea is firmly established.
This article was first published on the public account [Star Storage Tank]
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