TRAIN TO BUSAN is one of those rare foreign films that really captured the interest of the world and became somewhat of a global sensation, managing to even snag fans from people that normally don't even like horror films or read subtitles. It also proved that the tired and overused zombie subgenre could still be fresh, given the right people are behind and in front of the camera.  

With the film being a huge success, it was only a matter of time before they moved forward with a sequel, but could they recapture that same success with a much bigger budget? Having finally seen the movie, I can honestly say that much of what made the first so great and memorable is lost here, but it still manages to be an entertaining watch.

Original director Sang-ho Yeon returns behind the camera for this sequel that takes place four years after the events of the last film. The story follows a South Korean ex-soldier and his brother-in-law, who are tasked to retrieve millions of US dollars from an abandoned truck within the quarantined South Korean peninsula. Broke and living in the slums of Hong Kong, they take on the job and head out with a few dubious characters, but things naturally take a turn when they're attacked by a group of armed men.  

As it turns out, the zone isn't just inhabited by zombies, but also a large group of MAD MAX-style survivors, who like to pit innocent people and zombies in a Thunderdome-like arena (getting a little derivative here).  Accompanied by the family that saved his life, the ex-soldier must find a way to rescue his bro-in-law, get his hands on the cash, and get the hell off that dang peninsula with his new found friends.

While TRAIN TO BUSAN stuck primarily within the confines of a train, this sequel moves around a bit throughout the wastelands of the city, so much of that tense claustrophobic feel of the first is completely lost here. In fact, given its much bigger budget the movie is more of an action film than anything. Actually, to be more specific, it's more like ESCAPE FROM NY with some MAD MAX scenes and a buncha zombies thrown in for good measure. There’s even a lengthy heavily CG’d car chase sequence towards the end that further adds to the MAD MAX feel, but with a little FAST AND FURIOUS flare. Honestly if you just came across the movie knowing nothing about it, you’d think it has no connection to TRAIN TO BUSAN at all.

As far as the zombies go, they’re still as menacing as they ever were, running, lunging and contorting themselves in all sorts of ways, only this time we have much more of them. There’s also this weird mangled group of zombies stuck together in the arena scenes that’s pretty interesting. My question is what ever happened to zombie animals? I remember there being a zombie deer in the first movie, but that was never really explored. Seemed like a missed opportunity to me, but I digress.

Next to the movie having too much CG, my biggest issue is the weak characters. The lead guy is probably the most fleshed out person, though we do get to know the family that helps him a little as well. Unfortunately, none of them are as strong or as interesting as the characters from the first, so when it comes time to tug at heart strings, it just doesn’t quite hit the mark (at least for me anyway).  

I admire the fact that the filmmakers at least tried to do something different with the sequel than simply repeat the first, but it just seemed like they borrowed from so many other films that many scenes ended up derivative, predictable and ultimately have no resemblance to the first film at all. That aside, it's entertaining, but being over two hours, it's a little longer than it needed to be and you really feel it when things start to slow down.