While I have
time, let’s work in a quick review of Last Train to Busan (2016). This one made
a lot of “Best Of” lists and it’s easy to see why – it’s well executed, the
cinematography is wonderful, the acting solid, and the premise is simple at
heart – Seok-woo’s daughter, Soo-an, just wants to see her mom for her
birthday. All he needs to do is take the time from work, ride on the train to
Busan to meet up with his ex, and come back to work.
But, of
course, that would be a really boring movie. So let’s add some viral outbreak
that quickly infects folks making them want to immediately infect anyone around
them who isn’t already. That way you quickly get hordes of infected chasing
non-infected, and it really does make for some effective and tense moments in
the movie. I liked it.
I also like
the social commentary of the movie, regarding who was maybe worth saving and
what lengths some people would go to in order to increase their odds of survival.
Or at least it let them feel that way. South Korea has a very polite cultural
norm. And yet it would be easy to see the movie set in so many other places. The
more different we are, the more we are the same, eh?
The ending
of the movie is truly guy-wrenching. Heck, the last half is gut-wrenching and
nail biting as we cheer on our male heroes who are trying to make their way through
the rail cars to their female loved ones. And they don’t just bash their way
though, either. There is some seriously observation, cunning, and quick
thinking that happens in this movie. And I truly was in tears by the end.
Sacrifices are made. The stocky businessman I cheered over finally getting his
due at the hands of a horde of infected only to tear up when the director and
writers managed to humanize him before his final death. Train to Busan belongs
on all of those “Best of” lists for a very good reason.
That said, I
could still totally nit-pick this movie to death. There are so many little
things from continuity issues to just logic ones. But I made the decision while
watching it, not to do that, and I’m still not going to do that here. It was
really that good, in spite of any issues I might have found. (I mean really,
what virus has an infection rate of less than 3 seconds. It’s not sustainable,
at the very least.) I thought the amount of blood and core was about right – it
added to, rather than distracted from, the movie. And the earlier actors
playing the roles of the infected did an amazing job with the necessary body
work. Those early scenes of the infection taking hold were especially physical.
How can it apply
to a gaming setting? Well, Rowan, my eldest, thinks it would be a decently
adapted idea for The Walking Dead. They’re probably right. And I think it would
make a great Humans vs. Zombies game, which is already a live-play game of
horror survival.
Anyway,
check it out. It’s a fun, yet heart-wrenching, couple of hours that you won’t
regret.
Check out the rest of my challenge suggestions here. And if you want to play along as well, check out Pun's themes on his blog, Halls of the Nephilim. .
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