Snakes on a Plane
Aug. 18th, 2006 12:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
clayhornikI saw the ten o'clock show last night, and you know, I think Snakes on a Plane is the perfect summer movie. The title IS the plot. FBI agent escorts witness from Hawaii to LA on a plane, and there are snakes. Killer snakes. On the plane.
It's not art. It's kind of goofy even.
What it isn't is stupid though. It's got moments in it where the writer and director explain with out explaining- I won't spoil anything here, but watch the Red Bull cans early in the movie. They've anticipated the nitpickers and the answers to their questions seem to be there.
SoaP is only the fourth movie directed by David Ellis, but he's got a CV that goes back thirty years, as an actor, stunt man and assistant director. He knows what he's doing.
Sebastian Gutierrez and John Heffernan's script is smart and well paced.
That's not to say there aren't cliches. There's LOADS of them. As the passengers board the plane, you can check off who's going to live, who's going to die. The passengers are "types" but thanks to the magic of casting, they avoid being cardboard cutouts- even with out having a single line.
Speaking of a single line... yeah, Jackson says it. And when he did, the audience went wild with applause and whistles. Samuel L. Jackson is playing another Samuel L Jackson Character(tm) but that's ok, since he does it so well.
The snakes are good too. Instead of working with JUMPS!, Ellis focuses on the slither of the snake approaching it's prey, building tension rather than the AH! of a JUMP.
I'd see it again.
It's not art. It's kind of goofy even.
What it isn't is stupid though. It's got moments in it where the writer and director explain with out explaining- I won't spoil anything here, but watch the Red Bull cans early in the movie. They've anticipated the nitpickers and the answers to their questions seem to be there.
SoaP is only the fourth movie directed by David Ellis, but he's got a CV that goes back thirty years, as an actor, stunt man and assistant director. He knows what he's doing.
Sebastian Gutierrez and John Heffernan's script is smart and well paced.
That's not to say there aren't cliches. There's LOADS of them. As the passengers board the plane, you can check off who's going to live, who's going to die. The passengers are "types" but thanks to the magic of casting, they avoid being cardboard cutouts- even with out having a single line.
Speaking of a single line... yeah, Jackson says it. And when he did, the audience went wild with applause and whistles. Samuel L. Jackson is playing another Samuel L Jackson Character(tm) but that's ok, since he does it so well.
The snakes are good too. Instead of working with JUMPS!, Ellis focuses on the slither of the snake approaching it's prey, building tension rather than the AH! of a JUMP.
I'd see it again.
