What you expect is what you're going to get....
Review:
Its hard to describe who exactly is the bigger star in Snakes on
a Plane, the CGI snakes or Samuel L. Jackson. The immortal quote
in this film is a parody of the man and his roles throughout the
years. Samuel L. Jackson is the definitive cultural hero of the MTV
generation with his badass swagger, his cocksure disregard of the
establishment and cutting quips as he walks onto a scene like he
owns the damn movie. Hes exactly the sort of larger-than-life
individual youd want to associate this sort of film with if you
were a movie studio executive.
This truly is exemplary pulp fiction gone wild and is not a film
for anyone expecting a transcendent movie experience. The shocks
and thrills are instinctually predictable and extemporaneous with
no meaningful introspective about gripping terror or politics.
Anyone who attempts to draw comparisons to terrorism would be
really off the mark and disrespectful in spite of recent
events.
Suspension of belief is obviously crucial to the enjoyment of
Snakes on a Plane. Its a phenomenon that lives in the moment as
a product of our generations cultural zeitgeist thats (still
being) driven by hype due to its raging online fan ethos and a
generally high regard for escapist fare. With the premise that
launched a cross-media publicity campaign demonstrating the power
of fandom, it has no doubt spawned a PR legacy laying the
groundwork for more of such marketing strategies to come. When all
is said and done, that is the true phenomenon.
There appeared to be an urge to build this movie around the mania
and hysterics of fan-written ideas that seem like they were drawn
from a hat to form its plot structure. Many of the scenes felt
tacked on and tedious. The editing is just that haphazard, and
skips from passenger to passenger indiscriminately as fangs maul
them. It practically directs itself, no thanks to David R. Ellis.
Possibly its original director, Ronnie Yu, might have brought
something extra to this project aside from just piling on scenarios
upon scenarios of hurt without stringing them together.
Caught with its pants down halfway between satire and action, its
not quite the thrill it should have been and its also not an
out-and-out laugh riot. In all respects, once the creative juices
run dry, so does the initial frisson. When it first gets into its
groove, waves after waves of no holds barred, cringe inducing and
politically incorrect scenes set the film alight with exhilaration.
After awhile though, it all just goes steadily
downhill.........
Continued at
http://www.moviexclusive.com/review/snakesonaplane/snakesonaplane.htm
