MovieMantz Review: Ready For Snakeoff! (August 18, 2006)

Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies
Directed by David R. Ellis
(Verdict: Sssssssssssssee it!)

After months of pre-release hype that’s unlike anything the movie business has ever seen, the pop-cultural phenomenon “Snakes on a Plane” is finally slithering its way into theaters. And I’m happy to say that it’s even better than expected, exceeding the hype in every possible way.

That’s because “Snakes on a Plane” is a cinematic masterpiece in every sense of the word ? a groundbreaking, thought-provoking, brilliant piece of bravura filmmaking that makes “The English Patient” look like “Plan 9 from Outer Space.” And the Motion Picture Academy is bound to take notice with Oscar nominations across the board, including Best Picture, Best Director and, of course, Best Actor for Samuel L. Jackson.

OK, maybe I’m getting carried away, but at least I’m not the only one. Ever since the film was announced, die hard fans have been flooding the Internet with dedicated web sites, poems, tee shirts and jewelry ? all this, despite never having seen a frame of the film.

Then again, the title kind of says it all, doesn’t it? It’s about snakes. And they’re on a plane. Complications ensue. And so does the fun.

Jackson plays FBI Agent Neville Flynn, who is assigned to escort a witness to Los Angeles to testify in a brutal mob murder case. But when the crime boss smuggles hundreds of deadly snakes onto the commercial airline in an effort to eliminate the witness, Flynn, the frightened crew and the rest of the passengers must join forces in their desperate attempt to survive.

With a premise like that, it’s obvious that “Snakes on a Plane” is not for everybody. But for the type of movie it is, and for the audience it was made for, it delivers the goods. It?s scary, gory, exciting and very, very funny. And it doesn’t take itself too seriously, thanks to a slew of cheesy one-liners delivered by the one-and-only Samuel L. Jackson.

Actually, it was Jackson who kept the film on course almost from the beginning. The actor signed on just based on the title alone, but when he arrived on set to see that it was changed to the lame “Pacific Air 121,” he threatened to quit unless it was changed back to “Snakes on a Plane.” And when New Line Cinema commissioned re-shoots to push the film into R-rated territory, Jackson graciously agreed to utter the now-famous line that was originated by the fans: ?I’ve had it with these mutha-f*%#in? snakes on this mutha-f*%#in? plane!?

Up to this point, “Snakes on a Plane” has been tagged with a rep for being so bad that it?s good. Actually, it’s a little better than that; it’s a campy, fun, late summer guilty pleasure that makes good on its promise. It remains to be seen whether the hype will translate into big box office returns, but since it cost only $30 million to make, it won’t take much for the film to break even. And if it makes a lot of money, I can see the sequel now: “Snakes on a Bus” anyone?