"Snakes on a Plane" (2006)
Directed By: David R. Ellis
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Juliana Margulies, Nathan Phillips, Rachel Blanchard, Sunny Mabrey, Flex Alexander, Kenan Thompson, Lin Shaye, Bruce James, & Keith Dallas
MPAA Rating: "R" (for language, a scene of sexuality and drug use, and intense sequences of terror and violence)
"Snakes on a Plane" was an instant internet phenomenon from the very first moment it was announced. In a matter of days, thousands of internet-users flooded blogs, websites, and video-hosting sites to chat about the movie and to upload their homemade trailers. This obsession lasted for months and hardly anyone was spared. But then, the strangest thing imaginable happened. All of the buzz just fizzled. It seemed as though "Snakes on a Plane" just went away. When it was time for the movie to finally open, critics (surprisingly) enjoyed it, but the movie received a rather disappointing greeting. When it left theaters, it had garnered $34 million domestically, barely eclipsing its $33 million budget (though, it fared much better in worldwide totals). But, the real question is: is "Snakes on a Plane" worth your hard-earned dollars? To my surprise and pleasure, I found "Snakes on a Plane" to be a perfect blend of horror, action, and comedy. Though not intelligent and more fluff than anything else, "Snakes on a Plane" is an entertaining movie experience that will bring more fun than most any other film this year.
Sean Jones (Phillips) is a typical surfer dude whose life is thrown off course when he witnesses a brutal murder by legendary mob boss, Eddie Kim (Byron Lawson). Agent Neville Flynn (Jackson) is sent to escort Sean to California so that he can testify in the court case and put Eddie behind bars. But, Eddie has other plans. His "henchmen" put a crate of the world's most poisonous snakes onboard the plane and sets a timer that will release the snakes at a certain altitude. Soon, all hell breaks loose as the poisonous reptiles begin to run rampant and the innocent flyers are all the target of their fangs. The plot for this movie is shockingly simple. It is one of the very few in which the title, which consists of four brief words, sums up the entire movie. You know, there are certain movies that you watch for intellectual purposes, such as "Munich" and "Good Night, and Good Luck" just to name a few recent ones. Then, there are the movies you watch because you want a good, light, fun time with friends. "Snakes on a Plane" is one of the latter and it is an extremely effective one at that.
"Snakes on a Plane" is not a movie that relies on its performances. After all, this movie isn't called "People on a Plane with Snakes". Who cares if they can act when they are all being attacked and killed by hundreds of snakes on a plane? I know I don't, but, in all honesty, the performances are all competent enough. Samuel L. Jackson was well, he was Samuel L. Jackson. He was a tough-talking, butt-kicking you-know-what who ripped through a bunch of snakes and spat out a few catchy one-liners. Sure, this was practically the same performance he put out in "Deep Blue Sea" (minus the glasses), but it worked here too. I kept expecting a shark to pop up and eat him, but, alas, a plane is not a good place to house a shark. Juliana Margulies also does a nice job, providing a sympathetic heroine and injecting more humanity into the role than the original script provided. I dug her a lot. Nathan Phillips, from the stellar "Wolf Creek", gives another good performance. He was fine here. Overall, the cast was suitable. They screamed, they killed snakes, and then most of them died--the end.
Let's get this straight. If you go into a movie entitled "Snakes on a Plane" expecting the next great Oscar winner, then you have no business going into the movie to begin with. This movie is nothing but pure fun, though it isn't perfect. I can forgive the silliness of the initial plot, because, let's face it, the movie was very straight-forward about the silliness from the beginning. But, there are a few things I just cannot forgive, the most noticeable being the ending. If you've seen the movie, you know what I am talking about. If you haven't, then you will. It was just too over-the-top and reeked of the good-old cliché of always having some random passenger who can fly a crashing plane. On top of that, was it just me or was Samuel L. Jackson underused when it came to the snake-killing territory? Sure, when he got the chance, he ripped them to pieces, but it is most of the other passengers who get the real glory. Also, was it just me or did some of the special effects look a little unpolished? None of them were really noticeably bad, but, upon my second viewing, I noticed that some of the snakes looked very cheesy. Did you know that snakes could leap up a few feet in the air to strike a person in the face? Yeah, me neither. But, when "Snakes on a Plane" ended, I left feeling energetic and excited. This is a fun movie and really, when everything was said and done, that is all that mattered.
Final Thought: "Snakes on a Plane" is as much fun as the title suggests.
Overall Rating: 8/10 (A-)
Directed By: David R. Ellis
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Juliana Margulies, Nathan Phillips, Rachel Blanchard, Sunny Mabrey, Flex Alexander, Kenan Thompson, Lin Shaye, Bruce James, & Keith Dallas
MPAA Rating: "R" (for language, a scene of sexuality and drug use, and intense sequences of terror and violence)
"Snakes on a Plane" was an instant internet phenomenon from the very first moment it was announced. In a matter of days, thousands of internet-users flooded blogs, websites, and video-hosting sites to chat about the movie and to upload their homemade trailers. This obsession lasted for months and hardly anyone was spared. But then, the strangest thing imaginable happened. All of the buzz just fizzled. It seemed as though "Snakes on a Plane" just went away. When it was time for the movie to finally open, critics (surprisingly) enjoyed it, but the movie received a rather disappointing greeting. When it left theaters, it had garnered $34 million domestically, barely eclipsing its $33 million budget (though, it fared much better in worldwide totals). But, the real question is: is "Snakes on a Plane" worth your hard-earned dollars? To my surprise and pleasure, I found "Snakes on a Plane" to be a perfect blend of horror, action, and comedy. Though not intelligent and more fluff than anything else, "Snakes on a Plane" is an entertaining movie experience that will bring more fun than most any other film this year.
Sean Jones (Phillips) is a typical surfer dude whose life is thrown off course when he witnesses a brutal murder by legendary mob boss, Eddie Kim (Byron Lawson). Agent Neville Flynn (Jackson) is sent to escort Sean to California so that he can testify in the court case and put Eddie behind bars. But, Eddie has other plans. His "henchmen" put a crate of the world's most poisonous snakes onboard the plane and sets a timer that will release the snakes at a certain altitude. Soon, all hell breaks loose as the poisonous reptiles begin to run rampant and the innocent flyers are all the target of their fangs. The plot for this movie is shockingly simple. It is one of the very few in which the title, which consists of four brief words, sums up the entire movie. You know, there are certain movies that you watch for intellectual purposes, such as "Munich" and "Good Night, and Good Luck" just to name a few recent ones. Then, there are the movies you watch because you want a good, light, fun time with friends. "Snakes on a Plane" is one of the latter and it is an extremely effective one at that.
"Snakes on a Plane" is not a movie that relies on its performances. After all, this movie isn't called "People on a Plane with Snakes". Who cares if they can act when they are all being attacked and killed by hundreds of snakes on a plane? I know I don't, but, in all honesty, the performances are all competent enough. Samuel L. Jackson was well, he was Samuel L. Jackson. He was a tough-talking, butt-kicking you-know-what who ripped through a bunch of snakes and spat out a few catchy one-liners. Sure, this was practically the same performance he put out in "Deep Blue Sea" (minus the glasses), but it worked here too. I kept expecting a shark to pop up and eat him, but, alas, a plane is not a good place to house a shark. Juliana Margulies also does a nice job, providing a sympathetic heroine and injecting more humanity into the role than the original script provided. I dug her a lot. Nathan Phillips, from the stellar "Wolf Creek", gives another good performance. He was fine here. Overall, the cast was suitable. They screamed, they killed snakes, and then most of them died--the end.
Let's get this straight. If you go into a movie entitled "Snakes on a Plane" expecting the next great Oscar winner, then you have no business going into the movie to begin with. This movie is nothing but pure fun, though it isn't perfect. I can forgive the silliness of the initial plot, because, let's face it, the movie was very straight-forward about the silliness from the beginning. But, there are a few things I just cannot forgive, the most noticeable being the ending. If you've seen the movie, you know what I am talking about. If you haven't, then you will. It was just too over-the-top and reeked of the good-old cliché of always having some random passenger who can fly a crashing plane. On top of that, was it just me or was Samuel L. Jackson underused when it came to the snake-killing territory? Sure, when he got the chance, he ripped them to pieces, but it is most of the other passengers who get the real glory. Also, was it just me or did some of the special effects look a little unpolished? None of them were really noticeably bad, but, upon my second viewing, I noticed that some of the snakes looked very cheesy. Did you know that snakes could leap up a few feet in the air to strike a person in the face? Yeah, me neither. But, when "Snakes on a Plane" ended, I left feeling energetic and excited. This is a fun movie and really, when everything was said and done, that is all that mattered.
Final Thought: "Snakes on a Plane" is as much fun as the title suggests.
Overall Rating: 8/10 (A-)