Snowpiercer: Movie Review
Director Bong Joon Ho’s “Snowpiercer” is based on the French graphic novel “Transperceneige”. The project which has been completed for some time now was going through a whole “will-they, won’t-they” editing process once TWC picked up the movie for U.S. distribution. The filmmaker did not want his film chopped up and U.S. audiences had to wait and see how much of a trimmed down version we were going to get. It turns out that the Weinstein Company agreed to not cut the “Snowpiercer , but at the expense of denying it a wide release. That is a damn shame, because this is a movie that should be seen theatrically.
Due to the Earth being frozen over and uninhabitable, what is left of the human race lives about a mega-eco-train that perpetually circles the planet. The train must keep going or the remaining humans will freeze to death. The train is separated by class. The upper-class live in the front of the train and the lower-class live in the tail-end . The chosen few who live in the front, dine on steak and chicken, they have pools and spas. The unfortunate ones in the tail-end, dine on protein bars that look like a brick of canned cranberry sauce and they are forced to cram themselves into bunk beds which double as their dwellings.
In the 17th year of the train’s infinite circling of the globe, tail-end resident Curtis (Chris Evans) wants to lead the liberation of the tail section. With the help of his friend Edgar (Jamie Bell), his mentor Gilliam (John Hurt) and a few others played by Ko Ah-Sung and Octavia Spencer, Curtis breaks out of the tail and begins to make his way towards the front of the train. Each section presents a new and sometimes bloody challenge.
Tilda Swinton steals every moment as Mason, the face of the train’s authority and the right hand of the train’s unseen leader, Wilford (Ed Harris). There are so many great things about “Snowpiercer” but she is one of the best. Evans continues to prove that he is a fine actor and that playing Captain America doesn’t let him show much range. It’s sad that Evens revealed that he wants to move away from acting and focus on directing, but who knows, he could even be better behind the camera.
The movie looks great too. Even with a budget that is the fraction of most Hollywood summer blockbusters, Ho is able to deliver something that can rival the major studio Summer releases. Unfortunately when having to battle it out at the box office with a film like “Transformers” it will be pretty easy for this one to get lost in the shuffle. I feel like it might have been a wiser decision to wait till September to release “Snowpiercer” when the competition isn’t so stiff.
“Snowpiercer” is much more than an action film. There is something much deeper going on here. There are also a few surprises through-out the movie that might make you cringe. Make sure to hop a ride on the Snowpiercer this weekend, you will enjoy the ride.
By: Marc Ferman