Snakes on a Plane

The title “Snakes on a Plane” tells you everything you need to know. If you went into this 2006 thriller thinking it would be anything other than a crazy and strange B-movie thriller, you have no one to blame but yourself. Whether or not you find it entertaining is another question, but don’t expect anything reflective. This is silly escapism throughout.

Keith Garlington noted in his review, ““Snakes on a Plane” gained an enthusiastic internet fanbase well before the movie even hit theaters. Story goes that David Dalessandro, a college administrator at the time, wrote the script which taps into two common fears – snakes and flying. After the title began circulating online a big web following developed giving rise to all sorts of fan fiction, parodies, and art.”

The movie starts in Hawaii where a Red Bull-drinking dirt biker named Sean (Nathan Phillips) witnesses a brutal murder at the hands of powerful crime boss Eddie Kim (Byron Lawson). With a contract on him, Sean is rescued by FBI Agent Neville Flynn, played by Samuel L Jackson, and convinced to fly back to Los Angeles to testify against Kim in federal court.

As a diversion a private government plane is used as a decoy while Agent Flynn and Sean take a commercial airliner, taking the first-class section much to the irritation of the flight attendants and some passengers. Wouldn’t you know it, Eddie Kim has eyes everywhere and makes a plan to disrupt their flight, not by messing with the mechanics or planting a bomb. Garlington said, “No, instead he smuggles hundreds of deadly snakes into the cargo bay and rigs a pheromone to be unleashed once the plane hits 30,000 feet sending them into a lethal frenzy. I’m not making this up.”

Garlington continued, “Before the flight takes off we get one of those tried-and-true survival movie sequences – a scene briefly introducing an array of characters (in this case passengers) many of whom will amount to nothing more than snake fodder. We get a rap mogul/germaphobe, a single mother and her baby, a low-rent Paris Hilton clone, a jerky businessman, and so on. They all are pretty paper-thin but there are a couple you can’t help but root for (or in some cases against).”

Once the high-altitude mayhem starts you can see the movie trying to one-up itself on how insane it can get. Believe it or not, that’s the film’s one big strength. Garlington said, “I admit, I laughed quite a bit.” We get ridiculous lines like “Well that’s good news, snakes on crack.” Also, so many CGI snake kills that are almost as silly as the vacuous victims. Garlington said, “I’m sure all of this sounds like a slam but it’s actually what keeps the movie in the air.”

Garlington said, “So as a thriller/comedy/horror/survival mashup “Snakes on a Plane” squeaks by simply because it unashamedly embraces its cheesiness and absurdity.” That doesn’t make it a good movie, but it does make it entertaining. Sometimes that’s all you’re looking for.

As everyone already knows, this film is famous for the line, “I have had it with these MF snakes on this MF plane!” I saw this over at a cousin’s house late at night and I was laughing at how ridiculous it was. But that’s what makes it a lot of fun. If you want, check this film out. Just embrace how silly of a film this is and you’ll have a fun time. I don’t recommend this film a lot, but I will leave it up to the viewers to decide if they want to see it.

Tomorrow I will be looking at an animated movie I saw late at night with my cousins in “Samuel L Jackson Month.” Sorry for the late posting. I took a nap because I was so tired from work.