New Line Cinema Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies
Directed By: David R. Ellis (No Relation)
Rated: R (Sex, Violence, Snakes on a MotherF@#$%#@ Plane)
New Line Cinema
Samuel L. Jackson. That's pretty much all you have to say in a movie preview to get my attention. Ever since I first discovered the pleasures of Sam Jackson in Pulp Fiction (I had seen him in a number of other films, but his Pulp Fiction role is the one that brought him to my attention), he's been one of my favorite character actors. He really can play just about any role.
Even the role of an FBI agent who is trying to deliver a star witness from Honolulu to Los Angeles in a 747 full of thousands of poisonous snakes. I mean really...who else could possibly pull that off?
I've pretty much told you the story already. Sean Jones, a young surfer/dirt biker (Nathan Phillips) is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He witnesses the murder of a high-profile lawyer at the hands of an Asian gangster named Eddie Kim (Byron Lawson). Sean is snatched from the jaws of death by Flynn (Jackson), who convinces Sean to come back to Los Angeles and testify so that they can put Kim behind bars once and for all. Kim doesn't want this to happen, of course, so he arranges to have thousands of deadly, pheremone-crazed snakes released in the plane while it is over the middle of the Pacific Ocean in hopes that the snakes will either kill Sean or cause enough damage or kill enough of the right people to bring the whole plane down.
Okay, let's get one thing straight. Nobody was ever meant to take Snakes on a Plane seriously. However, the actors play the movie very seriously. It's the combination of these two things that make the movie work as well as it does. Obviously, the plan to kill a witness by releasing poisonous snakes on a 747 borders on the lunacy and over-the-top it's-way-too-easy-to-just-shoot-your-nemesis of the plans of such criminal masterminds as The Joker and The Penguin on the 1960s Batman television series. But the people in the film take it in stride. It's awesomely funny in a dark, twisted, crawly sort of way.
The cool thing about the film is that it is set up like a combination of a crime thriller, a 70s disaster film (say, Airport), a Friday the 13th film, and Aliens all rolled into one. It starts off as a very straightforward crime thriller. When the story moves to the airport, we get to meet the passengers of the plane--an eccentric group that includes all of the disaster film staples (the older woman with a heart of gold; the innocent kids traveling alone; the intolerable businessman; the plucky, level-headed flight attendant who can handle any crisis; the just-married couple; etc.). Any disaster film fan cannot help but smile. You start checking off who lives and who dies on your list as early as 20 minutes into the film--before the snakes even break loose.
When the snakes hit the duct work and start oozing out of the cracks, the Aliens part kicks in (with a little Predator thrown in for good measure). You frequently get to look through the eyes of the snakes and, when they start getting loose, they just keep coming, just like the creatures in Aliens.
Finally, the horror/splatter part: these snakes are mean. Crazy mean. They go flying through the air, and manage to bite into and/or rip out/off just about every body part you can imagine. Yes. Every part. An anaconda even swallows someone whole. It's awesome, and it's so ridiculously gory, it is just plain funny. You can't help but laugh.
In the midst of all of this stands Samuel L. Jackson. He's the picture of cool in every situation, including this one. He's large and in charge. And he is "sick and tired of these motherf#&$&@! snakes on this motherf#&$&@! plane!" (This line was the one that everyone in the theater was waiting for. People cheered. I was one of them.) It was an awesome thing to behold.
Oh...and you have to love the name of the director.
Is this film in danger of winning any sort of award? No. Even the computer generated snakes are a bit mediocre to merit a technical award. Is it fun to watch? Absolutely. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Bottom line: A strangely fun blend of 70s disaster, splatter horror, and science fiction films with a little crime drama (and Sam Jackson) thrown in for good measure.