|
Snakes on a Plane
Directed by: David R. Ellis
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson
Genre:
Thriller/Horror
Run Time: 105
min.
Release Date:
August 2006
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Chad Wilson |
For a film titled SNAKES
ON A PLANE, it’s not likely one is to suffer any confusion over what
the film will be about. In fact, this camp horror film starring Samuel
L. Jackson (FREEDOMLAND)
sells itself so honestly, it’s hard not to appreciate for once a film
being sold as the b-movie guilty pleasure that it is. While I
appreciated the pre-release buzz thanks to a cult following (or
precursor?) on the internet, SoaP as it’s lovingly abbreviated,
is nothing more than a simple b-movie horror that delivers exactly that;
good or bad.
Silly and contrived from the start, Snakes on a Plane makes no
excuses as it throws the audience into the life of young Sean Jones
(Nathan Philips) whose father is murdered by a mob boss. Having witnessed
the slaying he’s on the run, pursued by the mob until rescued by FBI
Agent Neville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson). Flynn convinces Jones to fly to
Los Angeles so he can testify against the mob boss. Just one problem;
the mob is onto the plan and the passenger plane has been seeded with
hundreds of snakes set to emerge in-flight. All hell is let loose with
the snakes and it’s up to Agent Flynn to save himself, his witness, and
the crew and passengers of Pacific Air Flight 121.
Knowing what you’re getting into as an audience counts for a lot in
SoaP. The marketing has for once made it clear that this is b-movie
material with silly characters, a silly story, and a silly monster(s).
The film makes liberal use of CGI to create hundreds of snakes of all
sizes and colors and makes every effort to use the critters as
frightening instruments of destruction. The vast variety of ways in
which the passengers are killed by the snakes is impressive. You have
people foaming at the mouth from venom, snakes slithering all over every
inch of the passengers, and snake bites upon every extremity you can
imagine. For the fellas, let it be said you’ve been forewarned.
The movie is short and keeps rolling, never straying too far from the
building of tension or a chilling snake attack. There are numerous
scenes throughout the film that will have you jumping. The snakes are
used in all sorts of tried-and-true scenes that startle the audience and
we are of course treated to numerous action sequences of Sam Jackson
killing snakes in a variety of ways. As long as one tries to enjoy the
simple pleasures and avoids scrutinizing the plot, the ride should be
fun. The film does make a few Romero-esque attempts at social commentary
by briefly going into subjects like race or stereotyping, but doesn’t
really give the audience much for it’s attention.
The down side of the honest marketing approach taken by SoaP is
that it must live up to the camp classic that it needs to be. SoaP
isn’t quite the b-movie champion it could have been. Many a fan of other
modern camp classic films like TREMORS or
RINGU will find that SoaP doesn’t match up. It is
standard b-movie fare, with the distinction of a large pre-release
fandom based online and Sam Jackson spouting “mother******” in a sure to
be laughed at scene in the third act. Those looking to SoaP as
the next guilty pleasure in classic kitschy film fun will have to wait.
Then again, maybe its moderate value is the point.
While not quite the b-movie cult classic it was supposed to be, SoaP
delivers a campy, fun experience worthy of a cheap seat.
(back to top) |
Image from Snakes on a
Plane
DVD cost: $9.86
Purchase:
Tower.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
This film's title
originated at an after-work happy hour among Hollywood colleagues to see
who could come up with the most awful pitch for a movie. Producer 'Craig
Berenson (III)' , who worked for DreamWorks at the time, gave his pitch
for this movie based on a script called "Venom."
Movie Quote: "Yeah,
you like that! Baby got back, front, and side to side!"
Other Actors/Actresses
from Snakes on a Plane
   |
