73
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80VarietyMaggie LeeVarietyMaggie LeeTrain to Busan pulses with relentless locomotive momentum. As an allegory of class rebellion and moral polarization, it proves just as biting as Bong Joon-ho’s sci-fi dystopia “Snowpiercer,” while delivering even more unpretentious fun.
- 80Village VoiceSimon AbramsVillage VoiceSimon AbramsYeon's patient direction and clever plot twists make Seok-woo's transformation from selfish antihero into brave caregiver consistently compelling.
- 80The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisOften chaotic but never disorienting, the movie’s spirited set pieces — like a wriggling ribbon of undead clinging doggedly to the last compartment — owe much to Lee Hyung-deok’s wonderfully agile cinematography.
- 75RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoRogerEbert.comBrian TallericoThe most purely entertaining zombie film in some time.
- 75Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMiami HeraldRene RodriguezBest of all, the story moves as fast as that bullet train, careening from one impossible predicament to the next while the characters jostle to survive.
- Although it lacks the layers evident in Yeon’s acclaimed animations (including the thematically-linked Seoul Station), this is still an entertaining ride, as well as providing political commentary when it overtly references the Korean government’s response to the MERS virus alongside commenting on the country’s class system.
- 70Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleLos Angeles TimesRobert AbeleThe key to the fun is that Yeon eschews lookie-loo gore for thrilling set pieces: his fleet, imaginative action scenes recall Brad Bird’s crisp transition to real people in peril when he made his “Mission Impossible” movie.
- 67The Film StageMichael SnydelThe Film StageMichael SnydelIt’s another well-made, culturally specific zombie film, but it could have been something much more filling.
- 63Slant MagazineEd GonzalezSlant MagazineEd GonzalezWhen divorced of message-mongering, the film’s scare tactics are among the most distinctive that the zombie canon has ever seen.
- 58IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichFor almost 45 minutes, Yeon Sang-ho’s Train to Busan is on pace to become the best, most urgent zombie movie since “28 Days Later.” And then — at once both figuratively and literally — this broad Korean blockbuster derails in slow-motion, sliding off the tracks and bursting into a hot mess of generic moments and digital fire.