Snakes on a Plane (2006)

Directed by: David R. Ellis | 105 minutes | action, horror, thriller | Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Byron Lawson, Nathan Phillips, Rachel Blanchard, Bobby Cannavale, Terry Chen, Keith Dallas, Casey Dubois, Daniel Hogarth, Emily Holmes, Mark Houghton, Bruce James, Taylor Kitsch, David Koechner, Todd Louiso, Sunny Mabrey, Elsa Pataky, Gerard Plunkett, Tygh Runyan, Lin Shaye, Kenan Thompson

Not since ‘The Blair Witch Project’ has a movie received such a massive boost through clever marketing and internet speculation. When at the end of 2005 the hilarious pulp title – a working title that is – ‘Snakes on a Plane’ starts circulating on the internet, and the name of the ultimate “bad motherfucker” in film land, Samuel L. Jackson, appears to be attached to the film. the film will take on a life of its own among fans of this type of cult or b material. A concept so stupid and simple that it becomes brilliant. You have snakes. In a plane. And Sam Jackson… And… snakes. That this has not been thought of before. Soon people began to speculate how “badass” the film might become, what kind of cheesy dialogue or snake attacks might appear in it, and what the inevitable sequel should be called (“Goats on a Boat,” “Alligators in an Elevator ‘…). When the film company got wind of all the internet hype, a big marketing campaign was thrown at it and some extra scenes were quickly shot with more nudity, violence, and the just suggested dialogue for the bad mofo himself. It truly seems to have become a movie by and for the fans, while a cynic (realist?) will see this tailor-made movie primarily as a calculated way to maximize profits.

Anyway, we’re dealing with a self-conscious b-movie here; so self-conscious that Jackson even threatened to quit the film if they said they wanted to change the awesome pulp title to “Pacific Air Flight 121” (the name of the plane). But even though the movie knows it’s stupid and some bits are clearly inserted to please fans, which compromises the spontaneity somewhat, you can’t help but enjoy this movie with a smile on your face. Who can resist Samuel Jackson’s already immortal phrase: “I’ve had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane”? It’s a comment that’s guaranteed to get the audience cheering, deserved or not.

And surprisingly, the rest of the film turns out to be quite enjoyable as well. Surprising, because it was almost inevitable that the greatest pleasure of the film had already been experienced in the anticipation and hype surrounding it. Under no circumstances can the film itself meet this requirement. So this seems to work out well. Yes, the film is in fact a “one trick pony”, but the humor and pleasant panic remain quite consistently present throughout the film. There may be a handful of laugh-out-loud moments in the film, but the many little jokes that ‘Snakes on a Plane’ has to offer work quite nicely in their own way.

Whether it’s strange places where snakes show up – the toilet bowl, a puke bag -, the contamination fear of the lead singer of the “3 G’s”, the vicissitudes of a nap with her chihuahua Mary-Kate, the rutted actions of one of the flight attendants who have a crush on the witness, or the funny effeminate flight attendant, who tries to hook up with a kickboxer, there is always something going on to keep the viewer amused. The film is at few moments really hilarious, but is almost constantly entertaining. Likewise, the film isn’t particularly exciting or scary, but has enough scare or look-a-way moments to keep the viewer interested. And the sheer number of snakes on the plane, and the many different places they house, alone provide fascination and a scarcity of dull moments.

Not that dull moments are absent. When the most running and frightening possibilities are exhausted and the same scenario continues to be repeated, the viewer gets a bit snake-tired. As a solution, Jackson is sent into the underside of the plane to solve a new life-threatening situation: the air conditioning needs to be repaired. Venomous snakes are up to that point, but imagine sweating! Well, it’s another excuse to let Jackson fight snakes in a small space with a makeshift flamethrower. They also try to compensate for the lack of story with humor, which usually succeeds reasonably well. However, when one switches to the ground to have an expert collect all kinds of anti-venoms, the film collapses inexorably. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen too regularly. A detailed review with meticulous analysis is actually superfluous here. Because where do the people who are interested in ‘Snakes on a Plane’ come from? A story? Characters undergoing development? Valuable subject matter? Stimulating images? All overrated. A plane full of snakes and a bad motherfucker are enough for movie gold.