Snowpiercer - Movie Review

            Among summer blockbusters: the big, visual effectsy spectacles, there are sometimes films that are released in that time because they are simply great movies that are considered by some to be “breathers”. Film critics see all sorts of action-packed blockbusters in the summer, and there is usually one film, like last year’s Before Midnight, which does not mix with the others, but is usually a great movie. Before Midnight was critically acclaimed, and so is Snowpiercer. Though, Snowpiercer is as much an action movie as it is a drama.

            In the near future, global warming is getting worse and worse, so there is an attempt by many countries to stop it, but that freezes the world, killing off nearly all life. But like all disaster movies, a there is a small group of humans that survived. These humans boarded this train that goes all around the world right before the world froze, so they were able to live. Though, the train is divided. There are different classes of people. The people in the front of the train, usually shown in bright and beautiful colors, live in absolute luxury, but the people in back of the train, usually shown in dirty, dry, disgusting, and dark colors, live in basically the opposite of luxury.

            Curtis (Chris Evans) leads a revolt to get to the front of the train. In this revolt, there are plenty of terrifically choreographed action sequences with fantastic stunt work and a lot of visually stunning shots of the outside world. When they get closer to the front of the train, many of the film’s deeper meanings are exposed.

            Many films of recent years have shared the theme that seems to be obvious in the summary of it, but that is not the theme that is used most profoundly in the movie. The writers and director of the film realizes that that is best left to last year’s Elysium.

            The official release year of this movie is 2013, but that’s when it premiered at festivals. It is made the Korean director Joon-ho Bong (who also co-wrote it). In the festivals this film premiered at, people loved it, but the studious thought that mainstream audiences wouldn’t like the movie because of how different (or un-mainstream) it is, so they thought about editing large portions of it, but there was a lot of outrage from both fans and critics who either saw it at the festivals and loved it or really wanted to see it, so the studios decided to release it uncut… but, of course, limited. People can see it all over the United States, but it goes to a very select group of theaters. I was going to see it in the theaters, but I then realized that the closest theatre to me showing it was an hour away, so I didn’t see it in theatres… but luckily On Demand has it. You only have to pay the same amount to see it in the theatre to watch it at home.

            This is a transcendent film. Many people who don’t really examine movies will watch this and think, “What’s so special about it? It’s just an action movie.” But if you really examine the movie, you can pick up some underlying themes that are told visually and through some tricks in the script. Not only is the action great and incredibly fun to watch, this film has a lot of great dramatic elements that the script mixes with the action smartly.

            This director is obviously a very talented one. All the action is directed pristinely with amazing precision and a lot of care taken to make sure that every aspect of the shot is how it needs to be. But the director also does a great job with the dramatic elements as well. He knows how to embellish characters with the camera. The shots are all framed flawlessly and the cinematography is another great visual thing about the film. All of the lighting seems on-point. Everything looks great. The cinematography really adds a lot to the feel of this movie.

            The script for this movie is aired tight. It is so original and different from what we get today in films. It is very unconventional, and some will see that as a negative. There are some very odd scenes in this movie, and some people will not realize that it is satire. There are some times when the film strays away from its plot for it a bit, but it does it to show us some character development and introduce themes. The dialogue is on-point. The characters are treated with care. The plot is interesting. The writing for this movie is fantastic.

            Yet another plus for this movie is the acting. Chris Evans really puts a lot into his character. He presents the dialogue and emotions very well. I could tell that he knew what the director was going for with his character. Kang-ho Song was also great in the film, as well as John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, etc…

            Snowpiercer is an excellent script presented fantastically by the director, cinematographer, and actors. The visuals are fantastic and the score is powerful. It’s 2 hours long, but every second of it is used to boost the film. It’s a non-stop entertaining film that I thoroughly enjoyed. We see themes of how we are taught to think and act, and how leadership can control people. Everyone is taught that they have a place. Everyone is meant to do one thing. Leaders can make people think through politics, religion, etc.