I’ve Seen Snakes on a fucking Plane!

What we got hear is a snake!
Originally uploaded by narrativeboy.

I’m writing this at 12:37am after just getting home from a 10pm Thursday screening of Snakes on a Plane so pardon me if my spelling and grammar is worse then normal. I’ve been jazzed for this film for months. The title is just so ridiculous is grabs you. Add Sam Jackson and the internet buzz and you had a cultural phenom. I even geeked out and bought a shirt on the internet. Of course I didn’t wear the shirt to the screening because that would be like wearing a Def Leppard shirt to a Def Leppard concert. But I digress. So the two big questions that have been floating around the last week are, is it any good and will anyone go see it?

First off yes it’s full of awesomely goodness. It was way better then it had any right to be. Now when I say good you have to put it in context. It’s good for what it is and that’s a grindhouse style B-movie with a bigger then normal budget. Is it Oscar worthy? Hell no. Is the acting top notch? Get the fuck out of here. It is what it is and it accepts it...no it excels at it. If I had to compare it I’d put it next to From Dusk til Dawn but it takes itself even less seriously. The opening credit sequence is absolutely horrible and you find yourself fearing for the film but it quickly rights itself soon after the director’s name fades from the screen. This is a movie that people will be quoting for years and I’m not just talking about “the line”, there are actually a ton of intentionally and unintentionally funny lines throughout. The snake attacks are appropriately vicious and the filmmakers have introduced the revolutionary camera technique of snake vision. Sam Jackson acts his pants off while seemingly joking on himself as well. We all know what Sam can do when he opens his mouth but the silent looks he gives throughout the film are what I’ll remember. The supporting cast is straight out of a 70’s disaster film. The writers clearly did their homework almost making a hybrid of Airport and the subsequent parody Airplane. Everybody gets their moment to shine one way or the other. It flys by at a running time of around 100 minutes and the ending shot will stay with you forever.

As to the question of will anyone go see it, the answer is a resounding yes, at least for opening weekend. While not sold out, my theater was 75% filled with people in every row straight to the front and I went to the second worst theater in my area. I can’t stress enough that you hit this flick opening weekend. Seeing the movie with a crowd of people who were jazzed to see it probably made the movie even better. During a trailer for some new Denzel Washington movie people started yelling, “needs more snakes.” Right there I knew this was diffenetly going to be an audience participation flick. From the clapping as the title showed to the first bit of roaring laughter at the Chinese mob boss the crowd was hot for SoaP. Everyone sang along to “the line” and it didn’t bother me a bit (I usually hate talking at a flick). People oooh and ahhhd at all the right moments and everyone stuck around for the credits which include a equally cheesy music video. Seriously if you have any interest in seeing SoaP see it at a theater or rent it with a bunch of friends that want to see it. I could see SoaP becoming a midnight movie at college campuses for many years to come.

Now that I’ve finally see it I can say the hype and anticipation were worth it. In fact I’ll probably see it again in the theater and I haven’t done that for any other films then the Star Wars series. If the very name of the movie makes you laugh then go see this film now. I swear if you go into it expecting snakes, planes, and one bad ass mutha fucka you won’t be dissapointed.