KRT CAMPUSSnakes on a Plane
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: David R. Ellis
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Kenan Thompson
Now playing at: Esquire
“Snakes on a Plane” was released on Aug. 18, but what has been so impressive about this movie is the fact that, despite very little promotion, it has become a cultural phenomenon. With a very simple plot-there are snakes on a plane-this movie seems to be thriving in a time when even one-hour television episodes are intentionally confusing.
I have been waiting since mid-May to see this movie, and I was not disappointed. When even the most acclaimed Hollywood movies leave much to be desired, “Snakes on a Plane” (SoaP) fulfils every want the audience could have that involves both snakes and planes. The producers even revisited the sets and filmed new scenes to make the movie R-rated, thus targeting the demographic of internet users who had already created posters, soundtracks, board games and t-shirts. Samuel L. Jackson, the movie’s fearless lead, signed onto the project having only read the title. This bold move set the stage for the movie’s worldwide audience, who was willing to fork over its hard earned cash for an hour and half of “intense sequences of terror and violence,” according to the MPAA.
In the complicated world of movie-making, step one was coming up with such a descriptive name. I’m fairly certain that step two of this film was to make a list of every place on a plane a snake could come out of, then a second list of where a person could be bitten and mix and match the two. To say the least, SoaP does not get repetitive with every victim being bitten on their legs.
There are only two problems one could find with this cinemagraphic gem: the snakes and the set-up plot. The set-up for this movie is that the FBI is transporting a witness to a trial, and the man he is testifying against doesn’t want him to get there, so he puts snakes on a plane to kill the witness. One must gloss over the plausibility of this scenario, given that even bottled water isn’t allowed on planes, to hit at the main issue: why don’t we care about said witness? As soon as he boards the plane and the snakes escape, we rarely see the witness again, dwelling mostly on the unknown passengers who are meeting a venomous death in coach. I realize he was only there to get the ball rolling, but honestly, he could have been at least seated in the same section of the plane as the snakes.
Secondly, most of the snakes aren’t venomous at all. The infamous microwave snake bites but has no venom at all. The best snake mixup is, by far, the bathroom snake. To give a little background for those who have yet to see SoaP, there is a young couple in the plane’s restroom-I’ll let you guess what they’re up to-and snakes pop in on them. This particular snake is a milk snake. The milk snake is thus named because it was once thought that this snake would attach itself to a cow’s udder and drain it. If you’ve seen the movie you will catch the reference. If you haven’t seen the movie, then this isn’t the only time you’ll be left out of the conversation.
While it is unlikely that this movie will withstand the test of time, it is very possible that it has become the next fad movie. With popular culture phenomenons having shorter and shorter life spans, it is amazing that this movie has been able to become popular over three months before release and then remain in box offices for more than a month.
Overall, while SoaP will not be a movie you have to see over and over again, it also won’t leave you disappointed. Plus, it’s always nice to be in on the jokes-all the cool kids have already seen it.