Director: Joon-ho Bong (as Bong Joon Ho)
Writers: Joon-ho Bong (screenplay) (as Joon Ho Bong), Kelly Masterson (screenplay)
Stars: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton
Plot: Set in a future where a failed climate-change experiment kills all life on the planet except for a lucky few who boarded the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe, where a class system emerges.
Running time: 2 hours 6 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes Score: Critics 95% Audience 72%
Why I watched it: The buzz and reviews were huge and the cast was great as well.
Random Thoughts: I find critics love the anti blockbuster, a film that has all the trappings of a Hollywood Epic but screws with the formula, usually these kind of films are made by a director from another country, critics love that. Now this film as you can see by Rotten Tomatoes has lots of followers that love it, I will say this going in I knew it was going to be different and by golly it was, it really was.
What I liked: The set up, the train looks great, I love films that create their own worlds this is an interesting looking film, dark and drape but kind of beautiful, the train feels lived in and all the different cars are amazing they’re each they’re own world. The cast is top notch, I miss John Hurt, he brought class and dignity to everything he did, he’s great here. Tilda Swinton is well, what can you say, another good but strange performance. Chris Evans is the lead and hero I guess, he underplays it and he plays a very weary and tired man, a man who’s done things he can’t undo and a man who knows things won’t end well. The set pieces, the fights and the whole uprising of the poor people of the train moving through these cars is gripping and really well filmed.
What I didn’t like: To say this film is heavy handed is a huge understatement, the metaphor of the train classes to the classes in real life is over done and really not subtle at all, we are beaten over the head with it. Now I won’t get into the whole thing where the train never stops and the world is frozen and if you leave the train you die, I’ll give it the premise but the people and how they are portrayed is silly. I’ll say this upfront, I didn’t love this film and I didn’t like it, I respect some of it but in the third act is completely falls apart for me. Man thins film feels long, and the last 30 minutes seem like a hour, some twists and reveals are almost laughable and disturbing, they make a big thing about finding out what they’re food is made out of but then we find out they ate people before that and babies, yes you read that right, this is one of these movies that want to make it clear that humanity and society are evil, when push comes to shove the worst in people come out, I get it but this film is so bleak and so determined to prove itself right that the film gets lost. Don’t even get me started on the ending, and yes there’s a few ending to get to till the last ending and it just gets more bleak as we go, it’s a dumb ending pure and simple.
Final thoughts: It’s different film, you haven’t seen anything like it but different doesn’t mean good, there’s images that are amazing and the film will have you talking no doubt but it not only left me cold but left me shaking my head cause I do feel there’s some good things in here but in the end I didn’t care for it and do feel it’s completely overrated.
Rating: 4/10
Movie Burner Entertainment 