Snakes on a Plane: A Ride Well Worth It

An instant classic, an unforgettable experience that will live on for ages, one of the most original film’s in Hollywood history. Wait a minute, that sounds like Samuel L. Jackson’s 1994 movie Pulp Fiction. Samuel L. Jackson’s latest movie, Snakes on a Plane, is actually the exact opposite of all that – maybe that’s why it is so enjoyable. It will not be an instant classic, and is definitely not one of the most original films of all time. However, there was just something about this movie that made it worth forking over the $6.75. Maybe it was the fact that it was one of the dumbest films of the summer, and the writers, director, producers, and actors all knew it. Maybe it was the fact that this movie was an entertaining, thrill ride that fulfilled its purpose in keeping audiences on the edge of their seat throughout the whole experience. Or it could have been those cheap one-liners that were prevalent during the movie. There was something about this movie that made this film enjoyable from beginning to end. If you’re the type of person who enjoys watching lovey-dovey chick flicks, then this movie is definitely not for you. It’s almost like the anti-chick flick; it gives you everything that movies like “The Notebook” fail to provide. This movie has gruesome deaths, heavy violence, nudity and cheesy humor. What else could you possibly ask for? It gets no better than that. The movie’s plot is fairly simple to understand. A kid named Sean Jones (played by Nathan Phillips) witnesses a mob murder in Hawaii and is escorted by Neville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson) to Los Angeles via aircraft to testify. The rest of the story is in the name of the movie: venomous snakes are unleashed aboard the flight, and then the chaos ensues. It’s always fun when you get to see Samuel L. Jackson whack some snakes like you’ve never seen before. Violence, blood, and gore exist throughout the film and it is kind of unpredictable at times. Other than Jackson, you never really know who the snakes will target next, and you don’t really know who will live and who will die until the very end. Movies made like that are fun to watch, and Jackson is clearly the reason for this movie’s success. His acting, clever promoting, his dedication and drive all make Jackson a tremendous actor and help make Snakes on a Plane a hit at the box office. He is without a doubt, one of the most under-rated actors in Hollywood. He puts passion and solid effort in every single movie that he is in, and he did the same in Snakes on a Plane. He portrayed Neville Flynn as a calm and cool police officer who doesn’t take anything from anybody. Nobody could have fit the role better than Jackson. If he was not in S.o.a.P, this movie would have been a failure and would have bombed at the box office. Jackson helps bring Snakes on a Plane to a higher level, and the rest of the cast was pretty decent. Nathan Phillips delivered a solid performance playing the role of Sean Jones. Keenan Thompson from the movie Good Burger and Mighty Ducks actually delivers some clever lines in this film, and the flight attendant Claire Miller (played by Julianna Margulies) played a significant role as well. The special effects in the movie were decent, but too obvious. Any person can tell the difference between a real snake and a CGI computer animated snake. The CGI snakes were too noticeable; it was like watching a cartoon snake with the same animation as the movie Shrek combined with live action. Maybe that’s what the producers wanted, who knows? But don’t let the cheesy graphics stop you from seeing the movie; it takes nothing away from this entertaining movie. The death scenes in this movie are top notch. The snakes do more than just hiss, bite, and lunge in this movie. They eat dogs, they suck body parts, and they wreak all kinds of havoc aboard the flight. One scene for example sticks out; it was probably the most gruesome scene you will see in a film all year. In the scene, a couple decides to join the mile high club, only to be attacked and killed by a snake in a very grotesque and crude manner. Perhaps the best thing about Snakes on a Plane is that it breaks from reality. The creators knew that this movie would be fun for the audience, no matter how unrealistic it might be. They knew the critics would hate it because of its stupid plot. The greatest gift you can take home from this movie is the fact that it breaks away from the serious world that we live in and gives the audience an hour and a half of pure, popcorn-popping, rock solid entertainment. That’s a quality that a lot of movies fail to provide nowadays. This movie lives up to what it is supposed to be and gives the audience everything they want and expect. If you walk into the theatre expecting to see snakes on a plane, then you will not be disappointed. If you expect to see snakes on a plane that kill people and cause all types of scary situations for passengers, then that’s exactly what you will get. If you expect a cool bad-boy like Samuel L. Jackson to help save the day and kill some snakes while he’s at it, you’ll get that as well. Snakes on a Plane is definitely one of the best “bad movies” that could have ever been made. This movie has lived up to its slogan; it was “so bad, that it was actually good.” You will enjoy it from its awkward beginning to its anti-climatic ending. This will be one bad movie that audiences will love.