Zombie Heists
May 22, 2021
So, I have now seen both Peninsula (Train to Busan 2) and Army of the Dead, both of which are stories of a group sent into zombie-infested territory to secure money. There is very different world-building, different character styles, and different stories, but the premises are the same.
And both were disappointing.
Of the two, I preferred Peninsula. It injected new elements, and some interesting story beats, and more fully realized characters, but the pacing was still off, there were too many clichés, and the general experience didn’t satisfy me. Army of the Dead, on the other hand, I just found poorly written. There were very few redeeming features. And, wow, there was A LOT of fridging the feminine characters.
Don’t go into Peninsula expecting something on the level of Train to Busan, and you’ll probably find an enjoyable action romp with some scares thrown in there.
Don’t go into Army of the Dead. There is really nothing enjoyable about it. I had hoped at least for good action scenes, but they were pretty pedestrian. The movies was just built of clichés and tired ones at that. No character had actual growth or even the smallest of arcs. The dialogue was extremely derivative. The plot was an idiot plot, in that it only works if everyone involved is an idiot.
Were I to write more, it would be a series of complaints. I’d rather avoid that. In the head to head, Peninsula wins by a wide margin, but I don’t think I’d recommend either.