| Overall Grade: |
A- |
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| Story: |
B- |
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| Acting: |
B |
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| Direction: |
A |
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| Visuals: |
A+ |
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Everything I expected...and more!
by Mike (movies profile)
Sep 2, 2007
48
of
67 people found this review helpful
In the months leading up to its theatrical release, Snakes on a Plane became one of the most anticipated movies in recent memory. The very-straightforward title, the plot, and the presence of Samuel L. Jackson led people to believe this movie would very quickly become a cult classic.
Those people were right. For anyone who enters the theatre with realistic expectations and a sense of humor, Snakes on a Plane will be more than worth the price of a ticket.
Background Information:
Snakes on a Plane was the brainchild of David Dalessandro, a former University of Pittsburgh administrator, as well as John Hefferman and Sheldon Turner. Jackson told people in recent interviews he agreed to do the film based on the title alone.
So imagine his surprise, and the surprise of many bloggers who had already heard about the movie, when New Line changed the title to Pacific Air Flight 121. An outcry ensued, with Jackson among the most vocal critics, and the New Line eventually changed the title back.
The movie, originally set to be a minor release for New Line, generated unprecedented hype from the internet. Parodies were posted, predictions were made, and the film took on a life of its own.
Because of this, New Line ordered additional days of shooting and bumped the rating up to R. This filming also included Jackson's infamous line, "Enough is enough! I've had it with these motherf*ckin' snakes on this motherf*ckin' plane!"
This choice would turn out to be a very smart decision on the part of New Line.
Plot (warning, contains spoilers):
The movie starts out with Sean Jones, a surfer, enjoying a day in the nice Hawaii sun. As he's working on his moped and fixing to take off, he comes across a man being dangled from the bridge above him. The man, who happens to be a federal prosecutor, encourages Jones to run away as there is little he can do to help. Jones somewhat heeds the advice and goes to hide in a nearby bush.
Enter Eddie Kim, the notorious crimelord, with a Louisville Slugger in hand. He's fed up with Mr. Prosecutor and decides to take batting practice on his head. (Eddie even gets blood on his white suit!) Jones has seen enough and (very intelligently) decides to take off on his moped, which tips off Kim and his henchmen. Having no time to waste, they let Jones get away and vow to take care of him later.
Despite not knowing Sean's name or anything about him, Kim manages to find his apartment and are planning to kill him. Sean catches this and starts to run outside when someone grabs him. It's FBI agent Neville Flynn (Jackson), who also managed to amazingly find Sean. He tells Sean seven important words: "Do as I say and you live." Flynn easily takes care of Kim's hitmen and the two take off to the local FBI office.
After some brief interrogation, Flynn convinces Jones to come to Los Angeles (to where Kim has flown) and testify against him. Flynn knows Kim is going to try to take Sean out, so he goes as far as to have a decoy flight to throw him off. However, Kim has henchment disguised as airport staff who quickly find out this plan. It is then where they start the big plan: they load a crate with poisonous snakes onto Sean and Flynn's flight and spread pheramones to make them extra aggressive.
It is during this pre-flight time we meet many of the passengers on our doomed flight, including: a newly married couple (with a husband afraid of flying); an OCD rapper and his entourage (which includes Kenan Thompson); a Paris-Hilton-type woman (complete with her dog); a stuck-up Britishman who shows utter contempt for all Americans; two young boys flying home to see their mother; a mother and her newborn; and a horny couple ready to join the Mile-High Club.
We also get to meet the crew, which includes two attendants on their last fight, one (Julianna Margulies) who is going to law school and one who is retiring; one even-tempered pilot and his sexist co-pilot; a "gay" flight attendant; and a cute blonde attendant who takes a quick liking to Sean.
The passengers scheduled to fly first class quickly find out they've been moved to coach, since Flynn, his partner John Saunders (Mark Houghton) and Sean are on-board. (Apparently there's a rule that the FBI can take over any flight at any time.) This leads to some initial tension which will factor in later.
Everything seems to be going fine until the timer on the crate reaches zero. Then everything changes. Cobras, rattlesnakes, adders, and even an anaconda start spreading throughout the plane. The snakes start claiming their first victims, though things remain moderately tame for a while.
They remain that way, that is, until the oxygen masks accidentally get lowered. Apparently that's where most of the snakes were hiding. All hell breaks loose at this point. Flynn senses trouble and comes to the rescue, tasering every snake he comes across. Some passengers and crew members manage to make it to safety, but the initial attack kills about 50 people, some of whom meet very gruesome deaths. Put it this way: virtually every appendage is bitten during this film, and I mean every.
The remaining hour involves two stories: Jackson tries to keep everyone alive (and sane) long enough to make it to LA while his associate at the Los Angeles FBI office tries to find a snake expert and antivenom to save the passengers who live long enough. It involves lots of action, lots of snakes, more deaths, and Jackson putting the boots to many of them. I won't spoil the ending, but let's just say it has a pretty over-the-top twist. It's pretty amusing.
Analysis:
I happened to catch the initial showing of the movie, which was less than half-full since it was a late showing. However, this also meant the people who saw it were truly in love with the movie. This led to an awesome atmosphere, complete with many one-liners from the audience, lots of cheering, and lots of laughter.
This is not one of those movies where you need to sit quietly and intently. New Line expected a reaction like this. The dialogue is nothing special, except for Samuel's now-infamous lines. (And I think there were a few others which people will be quoting.) I'd be curious to see what type of reaction this would get during a regular showing.
This movie is very much like a cheesy horror movie. The plot and the dialogue are both pretty bad. The animation for the snake attacks are pretty cheap-looking as well. This movie banked on two things: a ridiculous plot and Samuel L. Jackson, and it more than delivered on both of those. This will definitely be one of Jackson's more-famous movies
Final Thoughts:
In order to thoroughly enjoy this movie, you have to know what to expect beforehand. If you go in expecting a dramatic classic, you will be severely disappointed.
However, if you go in expecting some bad action, cheesy dialogue, and lots of over-the-top action, you will get your money's worth in the first hour and will probably want to go see it again. I know I do. |
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