Snakes On A Plane - Review & Comment
Last night I went to see Snakes On A Plane. It was late & I was tired, and I had to pay nine bucks for a ticket- can you believe that? I would like to know if there is anybody in t-blog-land who has to pay more for a movie ticket!
Anyhow, let's do an analysis, and subsequent review, of this "work of art": Quality Of Workmanship
Come on! It's about snakes on a plane. This movie is not intended to win an Academy Award. And it will not.
Significant Social Statement
Let's see....The hero defeats the bad guys and wins the heart of the pretty girl. I think I have encountered such theme a few thousand times before. There is no discernible social statement, except maybe one really should avoid being bitten by a snake. Oh, and do not hang upside-down from a tree limb while being clubbed in the head with a baseball bat.
Special Effects
The movie is, intentionally, campy with the acting and Grade B with the special effects. The intent, I think, is to create a cult classic along the lines of The Blob or Plan Nine From Outer Space- you know, a movie that is “good” because it is “bad”. I think they have succeeded, somewhat, although the movie still is not bad enough to be lastingly memorable.
Now, I did get to see snakes bite most parts of the human anatomy, in ketsupy-blood gory detail, including: eyeball, tongue, buttock, nipple, and.....- well, you get the drift.
Sex & Nudity
Of course it is there; one scene. And of course it is totally gratuitous, absolutely irrelevant to the storyline or plot, and totally voyeuristic. I guess they throw-in these scenes to titillate the teenagers and middle-aged guys who go alone to see such movies. Wait a minute- I'm middle aged! I think the scene could easily be cut without any harm to this wonderful movie.
Spiritual Lessons
I guess there's a parable here: The snakes are the devil and sin, the airline pilot is God, Samuel Jackson is the Lord...Naaah- this is about Snakes On A Plane. No spiritual significance.
Memorable Moments
*Scenes of Hawaii are truly spectacular.
*A passenger is prepared to fly a jumbo jet because of practice with a PlayStation II (right!).
*Anaconda swallows a man, head first.
*Samuel Jackson surfing. It appears to be the real thing, no stunt doubles.
Entertainment Value
The plot was slow to develop and totally predictable. The acting was poor, even wooden, and even Jackson sleep-walked through the movie with a cocky grin that said, "I'm not taking this bit seriously".
Final Word:
But, I enjoyed it. it was fun; total escapism, no need to think or consider- just sit back and have fun with a good times movie. While I think film is a powerful vehicle for social commentary, there should always be a place for shallow entertainment. So waste a couple of hours of your life, and nine dollars, and go see this flick. I give it a "thumbs up".
08.26.06 (12:01 am) [
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posted by:
ottomanprang (
reply)
post date:
08.25.06 (9:22 pm)
The imagination and effort that went into the title says it all for me....
posted by:
bjervah (
reply)
post date:
08.26.06 (1:33 am)
so i went to see it to, and i paid more for it then you...well...im not actually sure...i paid $10.95 but thats in canadien...and i dunno what the exchange rate is, so it might have been around the same price...but meh..i enjoyed it myself, but mostly cuz i was told how bad it was so i had no illusions to what it might be
posted by:
surrogate (
reply)
post date:
08.26.06 (4:04 am)
I had no interest in seeing this till I saw Samual L. interviewed during the pre-opening publicity push, and he was SOOOO funny talking about it (making great jokes about how he'd signed up for a sequel, but hadn't negociated his fee yet (then rubbed his hands together in semi-mock greed, making evil laughing noises) so he was gonna make SURE the first one was a huge success) that now? -I know I'll see it. Show me an actor who doesn't take himself too seriously (take note here Mr. Cruise) and i'll show you an actor I tend to like.
"I'm gonna' get these motherf*cking snakes off this motherf*cking PLANE!!!!"
Oh, so THAT'S the premise! Hilarious. See? Now if only Julie Andrews had said, "These Nazi's really suck!" -maybe "The Sounds of Music" would have been a bigger picture, what with the problem having been more clearly defined... Too funny.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
08.26.06 (5:28 am)
Reply to: ottomanprang
I appreciate a title that succintly describes the content. With just a few words, this title tells it all. Heck, you don't even have to see the movie.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
08.26.06 (5:30 am)
Reply to: LadyG
But a video cannot compete with a 120 foot screen, rocking chair seats, and dolby stereo. It probably won't cost $9, either. This film should be on video rather quickly.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
08.26.06 (5:33 am)
Reply to: bjervah
That's important- when you approach something with no illusions, then you are less likely to be disappointed.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
08.26.06 (5:37 am)
Reply to: surrogate
Jackson has proven to be a fine actor, but such skills are not needed here. And your insight about humility in the acting business is right on. We have a dollar theatre down the road which is now showing Mission Impossible III. It's only a dollar, and I usually take in whatever is showing, but not this time. Snakes should be there pretty soon.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
08.26.06 (5:39 am)
Reply to: godsmack
This is better than Killer Tomatoes, but not as good as Plan Nine. It's fun; go see it!
posted by:
inkspector (
reply)
post date:
08.26.06 (11:08 am)
Julia Margolis (sp) was on Regis and Kelli. She said that they had one set with the snakes on it but discovered when they had to do a re-take, it took 3 hours to wrangle all the snakes back in positions. So they had to build a second set for retakes while the first set was being wrangled. Then if the second set needed a retake, it would be back to the first set. Nothing like a man against nature film.
Anyways, another crazy one was "Tremors" (5 movies: 1 box office, 4 for TV/direct to video) with the worms and also who can forget "The Birds" and wasn't there "Arachnaphobia"(spiders) and "Ben" or "Willard"(rats). Gee, all these flicks would make a great weekend fundraiser if shown like a film festival.
Throw in "Antz" and "A Bug's Life" (for the kids) and "Little Shop of Horrors" (ok a plant that eats people but quirky), I am sure it would be a successful film festival.
posted by:
69whisper (
reply)
post date:
08.26.06 (12:10 pm)
its been a while that i have not been here (sorry for that). see nice/informative posts as usuall. by the way how is Skyler ?
posted by:
kaikai (
reply)
post date:
08.26.06 (12:39 pm)
Well, I paid £7.50 to see a film last week, though sadly it wasn't Snakes. Sounds like a bit of a laugh!
posted by:
FinalyFree (
reply)
post date:
08.26.06 (6:02 pm)
My 15 yr old son loved it, that kind of scared me until I started seeing the trailers and interviews with the likes of Sam Jackson. I think it was Entertainment Tonight that dubbed it the 'best, bad movie of all time!" lol I'll definately rent it :)
posted by:
seochris (
reply)
post date:
08.27.06 (9:12 pm)
i havn't watched the movie. So I'll comment only after seeing it.
posted by:
Kiwi in Zurich (
reply)
post date:
08.28.06 (12:44 am)
Cheap day Mondays here are 12 francs (USD7.70). Standard price is 16 francs (USD13). Still, Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Carribean 2 was worth it and I expect Superman tonight will be as well.
posted by:
surrogate (
reply)
post date:
08.28.06 (12:25 pm)
Reply to: PastorDave I saw the first Mission Im[possible movie, but when they made Jim Phelps the bad guy, I was pissed... I loved that character when I was a kid... He'd have never turned traitor! (whine, whine...)
posted by:
TheRockSays (
reply)
post date:
09.02.06 (8:18 am)
I just came back from it last night, and you'd forgotten to mention the best worst part of that movie, which is the abomination of a music video during the credits, by those desperate nobodies who need the make the most of some bimbo. The poster is also a silly attempt at making a double entendre between a caduceus and... they forgot the other entendre.
posted by:
amigo (
reply)
post date:
12.30.06 (4:07 am)
Hi cool site friend!
