Starring: Chris Evans, Kang-ho Song, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Ed Harris, and Tilda Swinton
Directed by: Joon-ho Bong
Screenplay by: Joon-ho Bong and Jaques Lob
!!!!!!!!!!WARNING!!!!!!! THIS IS THE REVIEW CORNER SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM!!!!!!!! IF YOU INTEND TO SEE THIS FILM, DO NOT READ ON!!!!!!!!!
It's no secret that we are dealing with climate change in this day in age, so here's what it looks like in the long run if we fail to do anything about it.
The world has addressed climate change in this not too distant future world. A cooling agent called CW-7 was released into the air with the hopes that it would return the earth's surface back to normal temperatures before climate change became a problem. It cooled the planet, but to the point where all life went extinct, with the exception of the lucky few who boarded the train, Snowpiercer; a train that constantly travels on a railway that circles the globe.
It's been 17 years since the train departed its station, carrying with it the last of humanity. On board, there is a class system. Those who are wealthy are in the front, while the rest are in the back of the train, with the leader, Mr. Wilford (Ed Harris); the driver of the train as well as the guardian of "the sacred engine". The engine is considered sacred because it is self-sustaining and can run pretty much forever without having to stop and refuel (how fortunate, right?).
Curtis (Chris Evans) is a member of the back of the train. He is one of the many, less fortunate, survivors that have been stuffed into the tail of the train. These passengers don't like how they are being treated by the front of the train, so he leads a group of people to attempt to overtake the engine from Wilford and lead a revolution. Will he succeed?
This film has an interesting, but pretty unoriginal concept, the concept of class warfare; the classic idea of the poor overthrowing the rich. Snowpiercer starts out as pretty much your average movie about an average person leading a revolution. Usually in stories like this, the leader of the revolution has something to gain by overthrowing the current leading party, but in this film, it's not clear exactly what his intentions are. Does Curtis want to get better food for his faction of the train? Does he want to send the passengers of the front to the rear? These are a few of the many questions that I will be asking throughout the rest of this review that the film fails to answer.
I like background information. I like it a lot. I like it so much that it makes me crazy and sometimes a little angry when there isn't a fully developed world. Often times, a filmmaker may miss a few details, and I understand that. One can't always fill every detail in the background information. This happens to be a film in which there is so little background information that it actually affects the storyline to a large degree. The film states that the CW-7 froze the world and all life died. Did all life die immediately? Like within a few minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? Another plot hole; how did these people make it onto the train? Were they chosen? Did they buy their way on board? I don't know and I doubt you will either should you choose to see this film.
One last plot hole, and then I promise I'll move on. One of the characters states at one point that the locomotive of the train picks up snow and ice on the track and turns it into drinkable water for the people onboard, but how? It's never explained. Overall, these plot holes could have been fixed by making the film perhaps another 20 minutes longer or so and explaining all of these questions I have raised.
I would assume that many readers will recognize Chris Evans from the two recent Captain America films and The Avengers. Sadly folks, Captain America didn't show up to this film. Evans does not deliver the strongest or most satisfying performance. For a film in which he plays the main character, he does not bring as much energy and life to the role that he brings to other roles such as Captain America. His character, Curtis, is quite flat and underdeveloped, which I believe may have an effect on Evans's performance. Were Curtis a more developed and relatable character to some in the audience, he may have a stronger performance.
A positive note on the film is its set design. The entirety of the film takes place on board the train, and for those of you who have been on a train before, you can imagine that it might be rather complicated to film something on a train or design a set that is to resemble a train. It's a tight and compact space which can be difficult to film in, however, the film's cinematographer, Kyung-Pyo Hong, captures the compact space incredibly well. While at some points it seems as if the train cars are significantly larger than a normal train car in real life, Snowpiercer is a film that demonstrates that constraint can truly inspire creativity. It is actually amazing how much can be done in a small space like a train car.
Overall, this is a film that will make you think, "oh how convenient this is for the characters." Basically, there are a lot of things that just happen without a lot of explanation and they seem to be "magical" in some instances. How convenient it is that the sacred engine can last forever. How convenient it is that all Curtis has to do to take control of the train is walk to the front (easier said than done in Curtis's case). How convenient it is that the entire train is self-sustaining. How convenient it is that there is a seemingly limitless supply of food for those on board. If your'e a skeptical person, Snowpiercer is most definitely not the film for you. If your'e a train junkie like I am, this might be a film for you, but be prepared to be let down. This film has a lot of problems on board and not too many solutions. My recommendation, skip it.
I give Snowpiercer a D+.
Directed by: Joon-ho Bong
Screenplay by: Joon-ho Bong and Jaques Lob
!!!!!!!!!!WARNING!!!!!!! THIS IS THE REVIEW CORNER SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM!!!!!!!! IF YOU INTEND TO SEE THIS FILM, DO NOT READ ON!!!!!!!!!
It's no secret that we are dealing with climate change in this day in age, so here's what it looks like in the long run if we fail to do anything about it.
The world has addressed climate change in this not too distant future world. A cooling agent called CW-7 was released into the air with the hopes that it would return the earth's surface back to normal temperatures before climate change became a problem. It cooled the planet, but to the point where all life went extinct, with the exception of the lucky few who boarded the train, Snowpiercer; a train that constantly travels on a railway that circles the globe.
It's been 17 years since the train departed its station, carrying with it the last of humanity. On board, there is a class system. Those who are wealthy are in the front, while the rest are in the back of the train, with the leader, Mr. Wilford (Ed Harris); the driver of the train as well as the guardian of "the sacred engine". The engine is considered sacred because it is self-sustaining and can run pretty much forever without having to stop and refuel (how fortunate, right?).
Curtis (Chris Evans) is a member of the back of the train. He is one of the many, less fortunate, survivors that have been stuffed into the tail of the train. These passengers don't like how they are being treated by the front of the train, so he leads a group of people to attempt to overtake the engine from Wilford and lead a revolution. Will he succeed?
This film has an interesting, but pretty unoriginal concept, the concept of class warfare; the classic idea of the poor overthrowing the rich. Snowpiercer starts out as pretty much your average movie about an average person leading a revolution. Usually in stories like this, the leader of the revolution has something to gain by overthrowing the current leading party, but in this film, it's not clear exactly what his intentions are. Does Curtis want to get better food for his faction of the train? Does he want to send the passengers of the front to the rear? These are a few of the many questions that I will be asking throughout the rest of this review that the film fails to answer.
I like background information. I like it a lot. I like it so much that it makes me crazy and sometimes a little angry when there isn't a fully developed world. Often times, a filmmaker may miss a few details, and I understand that. One can't always fill every detail in the background information. This happens to be a film in which there is so little background information that it actually affects the storyline to a large degree. The film states that the CW-7 froze the world and all life died. Did all life die immediately? Like within a few minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? Another plot hole; how did these people make it onto the train? Were they chosen? Did they buy their way on board? I don't know and I doubt you will either should you choose to see this film.
One last plot hole, and then I promise I'll move on. One of the characters states at one point that the locomotive of the train picks up snow and ice on the track and turns it into drinkable water for the people onboard, but how? It's never explained. Overall, these plot holes could have been fixed by making the film perhaps another 20 minutes longer or so and explaining all of these questions I have raised.
I would assume that many readers will recognize Chris Evans from the two recent Captain America films and The Avengers. Sadly folks, Captain America didn't show up to this film. Evans does not deliver the strongest or most satisfying performance. For a film in which he plays the main character, he does not bring as much energy and life to the role that he brings to other roles such as Captain America. His character, Curtis, is quite flat and underdeveloped, which I believe may have an effect on Evans's performance. Were Curtis a more developed and relatable character to some in the audience, he may have a stronger performance.
A positive note on the film is its set design. The entirety of the film takes place on board the train, and for those of you who have been on a train before, you can imagine that it might be rather complicated to film something on a train or design a set that is to resemble a train. It's a tight and compact space which can be difficult to film in, however, the film's cinematographer, Kyung-Pyo Hong, captures the compact space incredibly well. While at some points it seems as if the train cars are significantly larger than a normal train car in real life, Snowpiercer is a film that demonstrates that constraint can truly inspire creativity. It is actually amazing how much can be done in a small space like a train car.
Overall, this is a film that will make you think, "oh how convenient this is for the characters." Basically, there are a lot of things that just happen without a lot of explanation and they seem to be "magical" in some instances. How convenient it is that the sacred engine can last forever. How convenient it is that all Curtis has to do to take control of the train is walk to the front (easier said than done in Curtis's case). How convenient it is that the entire train is self-sustaining. How convenient it is that there is a seemingly limitless supply of food for those on board. If your'e a skeptical person, Snowpiercer is most definitely not the film for you. If your'e a train junkie like I am, this might be a film for you, but be prepared to be let down. This film has a lot of problems on board and not too many solutions. My recommendation, skip it.
I give Snowpiercer a D+.
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