LAURA JOHNSON
A&E Assistant
Indiana Jones and Samuel L. Jackson have one thing in common – when either is faced with the choice of snake or no snake, both would just rather avoid one. Although Indiana prefers his whip to Jackson’s taser/harpoon/gun/fire extinguisher/hand-made hair spray blowtorch for getting rid of the scaly creatures, both men somehow manage to combat these reptiles with the same amount of debonair suaveness.
The movie’s title, “Snakes on a Plane,” is the first clue to exactly how the plot line will unfold. When it says there are snakes and they are on the plane, the title is not joking. However, the full development of the plot is pleasantly surprising.
The opening song croons “it’s gonna be a lovely day,” as the camera scans peacefully over luscious Hawaiian scenery. Too bad lovely is the last word that comes to mind while in pursuit of a good adjective for the film. After Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips) witnesses a brutal murder, Nelville Flynn (Jackson), an FBI agent, must come to Jones’ aid to keep him from the same fate. Once on the plane – flying toward Los Angeles where the witness is scheduled to testify against the murderer – is when the fun truly begins.
The passengers who board the plane are the cliché problem passengers and just the type flight attendant Claire Miller (Julianna Marguiles) does not want on her flight. There is the man who is scared of flying, the jerk who does not like small children or small dogs, the rapper with a germ phobia, the two children flying by themselves for the first time and the couple attempting to earn their mile-high club membership. With all of these varied personalities, mixed in with a few hundred squirrely snakes, this is the stuff of true drama.
Not everyone in the film gets bitten but it is pretty close. Once the action starts, it never seems to stop. Snakes slither and fly out of everything while the cinematographer, using an immensely shaky hand-held camera technique to heighten the suspense, leaves the movie-goers holding onto one another for dear life. It is wild and entertaining.
Are there body parts being bitten that shouldn’t be? Yes. Should grandmothers (or the faint of heart) go see it? No. Will it be nominated for an Oscar? Not even close. Yet “Snakes” still has enough charisma to make it worth the ticket price.
Besides the notorious explicit line (which can’t be written here) quoted by all hard-core bloggers for over a year now, Jackson delivers a few other lines allowing audiences time to breath between the snake attacks. For example, after being told that the snakes have been drugged Jackson says, “Well that’s good news, snakes on crack.” And then there is the line destined to become most quotable: “Do as I say, and you’ll live.”
Jackson floats through his role, seemingly having the time of his life in a part that requires little application. Yet, this man simply reeks of cool – after all, he is the same person who played Shaft.
Jackson even said he would not do the film unless the title “Snakes on a Plane” was kept. Clearly, this great-for-popcorn-chomping movie was just too much fun for him to pass up.
Maybe this movie wasn’t Disneyland, but it does take viewers on one glorious ride. Utterly ridiculous throughout most of the film, with some scenes even making the skin crawl, it still has just the right dash of humanity to make the film bearable.
Although viewers will come out of the theater checking dark corners for snakes, it boasts one of the most creative premises in B-movie glory to ever hit theaters. The film is sure to become a cult classic.
08-28-2006
