Director:
David R. Ellis
Cast:
Samuel L. Jackson .Neville Flynn
Julianna Margulies Claire Miller
Nathan Phillips .Sean Jones
Rachel Blanchard .Mercedes
Sunny Mabrey .Tiffany
Flex Alexander .Three G’s
Kenan Thompson .Troy
Byron Lawson .Eddie Kim
New Line Cinema presents Snakes on a Plane. Written by John Heffernan and Sebastian Gutierrez. Rated R (for language, a scene of sexuality and drug use, and intense sequences of terror and violence). Running time: 106 minutes. DVD release date: January 2, 2007. MSRP: $28.98.
Hype and anticipation are two aspects that go hand-in-hand in fueling summertime blockbusters. Hype is derived from the promotional campaign a studio rolls out: trailers, posters, and fast food tie-ins — the usual. Anticipation is the effect said promotions have on people. Something that makes theatergoers’ mouths water. To the point where they can’t say “wow” without first coughing up stale popcorn or Coke. In turn, this makes them go online and type frantically, never mind the misspellings, in hopes of being the first to spread the news.
So it is not surprising that a movie with the words snakes on a plane in the title would cause such fervor on the World Wide Web. For months, fans would blog till their hands cramped. They would create short film parodies that play off the concept of snakes traveling in the baggage compartment of a 747. Donkeys on a Bus, hmmm, sounds like a winner.
All this anticipation and not a single trailer, TV spot, or poster had been revealed. Everything is in the title. No need to head scratch, wondering, Gee, what’s this movie about. There is that. There’s also the fact that Samuel L. Jackson was attached to star. And if you know Sam Jack, then you know he has just the right amount of badass ferocity.
As FBI agent Flynn, Jackson has been assigned to transport Sean (Nathan Phillips), a federally-protected witness from Hawaii to L.A. Seems that Sean rode his dirt bike to the wrong side of the island and was an eyewitness to a murder. But the murderer was no ordinary two-bit thief; he was notorious Mob boss Eddie Kim. A man who has the means needed to kill anyone who tries to take him down.
Since air travel is the easiest way to commute across the Pacific, Flynn and Sean embark on a flight that consists of average-looking and not-so-average passengers. A Puff Daddy reject (Flex Alexander) and his entourage, a Paris Hilton socialite (Rachel Blanchard), and a flight attendant who looks like she came from pulling a double in the ER (Juliana Margulies). An attendant who should be walking down a model runaway (Sunny Mabrey), not dishing out peanuts, a kickboxer, a Roseanne look-alike; and two twenty-something year olds who want to get freaky at 30,000 feet.
Little do they know that when the plane reaches that altitude, hundreds of snakes housed in a time-lock container are unleashed. As terrifying as it sounds, the scare factor goes up a few notches when agent Flynn learns the snakes have been sprayed with powerful pheremones that make them even more deadly. “Snakes on crack,” he eloquently says. Okay, maybe not so eloquently.
That’s the set-up. What happens next is something out of an amusement park ride. Nasty turbulence throws passengers around like rag dolls. (You can imagine the velocity slithering snakes can get.) With the restrictions put on airports, and what can and cannot be carried on board, there’s a shortage of guns and ammo. Even the plane is ill prepared when it comes to dealing with venomous creatures. No metal cutlery, just sporks. Oy.
Samuel L. Jackson, who signed on to do SoaP because of its title, relishes these kinds of movies. If it had been Harrison Ford, donning his whip and six-shooter, in the same position, well Indiana would have thrown down his hat and exclaimed, “I hate snakes!” And since this movie is rated R, maybe he’ll throw in a word before snakes that rhymes with ducking.
Snakes on a Plane is far from a masterpiece. It is a game of Solitaire to The Godfather’s Texas Hold-em. But for director David R. Ellis and the rest of the crew, they know this. It’s not meant to be art — it’s pure spectacle. Having made the easy transition from stunt coordinator Ellis has shown his ability to create ingenious stunts (Cellular) and cringeworthy fatalities (Final Destination 2). SoaP counterbalances both with farfetched situations, corny dialogue with a few memorable one-liners, and acting that is cheese worthy.
If that sounds like your cup of tea, then stay on board. If not, put your tray tables in their up and locked position, and head to the exits with extreme caution.
THE VIDEO
(Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen)
New Line Cinema is one of the best studios when it comes to audio and video quality. This is especially true with newer DVD titles. Their resume is impeccable with films like The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Running Scared. Snakes on a Plane is no different. While the imperfections are minor, a little aliasing on the picture and grain here and there, the colors really stand out. Blacks are strong, and there isn’t any color loss from transferring the movie from film to DVD.
THE AUDIO
(English — Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; DTS ES 6.1; and Stereo Surround)
With three audio tracks at your disposal you are sure to be in technophile heaven. If you have some high-end equipment, go with the DTS soundtrack. That extra channel, when compared to the Dolby Digital 5.1 track, really makes a difference. Either way, the snake attacks at 30,000 feet can be heard all around. Even better is no distortion or hissing with the tracks. The audio is well balanced and allows the performers to be understood by the listener at home. Optional subtitles in English and Spanish are available for the feature, as is closed captioning (presented in English).
SPECIAL FEATURES
Since the Internet community was instrumental in adding lines of dialogue to the final cut, which in turn bumped the PG-13 rating to R, strangely — maybe for the better — New Line has decided not to have both rated and unrated versions of SoaP on DVD.
Nevertheless, like its quality control for audio and video, New Line doesn’t skimp when it comes to extras. The longest special feature is a group commentary with director David Ellis and the man who doesn’t take any crap, Samuel L. Jackson. Joining them are VFX supervisor Eric Henry, producers Craig Berenson and Tawny Ellis, and 2nd unit director Freddie Hice. Odd, screenwriters John Heffernan and Sebastian Gutierrez aren’t included in the discussion. Though, it’s not like they their work is comparable to that of Shakespeare. Just like the movie, this track bounces all over the place. Mostly humor-oriented, Jackson is the star cracking jokes throughout, offering his two cents on everything. We get a short history on how the project came together, how it was a property of MTV/Paramount under the title Venom. Eric Henry explains many of the visual effects of the movie, like snake vision.
Up next we get a staple for comedy DVDs — the gag reel. A little more than four minutes, it is the right length. Not too long, not too short. Out of all the gags, though, I think they save the best for last. Most men will agree.
There is a section with deleted/extended scenes, ten in all: Waiting at the Gate (0:54), Eddie Kim Spars (1:10), Boarding (1:58), Three G’s and Mercedes (1:15), Agent Flynn and Claire (1:17), Longer Mrs. Bova Attack (1:49), Music Video Talk (1:18), Despair in the Cabin (0:38), Water Crash Prep (0:39) and Flynn’s Offer (0:43). Nothing really memorable, as most are extensions of scenes already in the movie. They were trimmed because, if included, the scenes would affect the pacing. With these scenes, we have the option of hearing from David Ellis, Tawny Ellis and Craig Berenson via commentary. But most of their comments aren’t related to the action on screen.
For the documentaries portion of the disc we are given a series of featurettes beginning with Pure Venom: The Making of Snakes on a Plane (18:00). This is your typical fluff feature but with more cursing. Behind the scenes footage is spliced with interviews and sound bites from the cast and crew. The actors couldn’t stop throwing pleasantries towards Jackson, as the movie is the perfect vehicle for Mr. Badass. A portion of the featurette gives us a brief look at the archetypical characters, some of which I mentioned above. The writers had pop culture on the brain, specifically with the rapper and his entourage. Of particular interest is the special effects and how they were created. Bits and pieces of a real plane were purchased to help create the aesthetics of an airplane’s interior. The crew built the plane on a hydraulic lift with 12 huge airbags underneath. With the help of two diesel-fueled compressors they were able to create turbulence; the twelve airbags could move at once or independently.
Near the end of the featurette we get introduced to snake handler Jules Sylvester and his work on the project. His introduction is elaborated upon in the second featurette Meet the Reptiles (12:56). Sylvester grew up in Kenya and has had a strange fascination with snakes ever since he was a kid. His curiosity led him to become a snake wrangler. Though, as he tells us in the extra, he’s more of a snake manager, trying to maintain and keep track of trash barrels full of snakes. Close to 450 snakes were used during the production, which averaged out to 20 to 30 different species. But no poisonous ones. Those were computer animated.
On the heels of the reptile feature is a five-minute VFX featurette. We are given a brief tour of Café FX, the company that created the visual effects for Snakes on a Plane. Here we get to see how big a role computer animation had on the production. Footage from the company and raw animation highlight the piece.
The last documentary, Snakes on a Blog (10:00), may just be the best featurette of the bunch as it examines the Internet buzz that propelled the movie into the pop culture stratosphere long before it was seen. New Line Cinema enjoyed the fan participation so much that they used the free publicity to their advantage. The buzz, beginning with a mention on the Web site Ain’t It Cool News, would spiral out of control and peak well before the movie was to be released. Unfortunately, we don’t get any mention of the aftermath and how Snakes on a Plane inevitably failed to live up to the hype — as far as box office gross is concerned. Still, hearing the comments from bloggers, as well as seeing clips from parodies like Pandas on a RV, makes this a can’t-miss feature.
Completing this disc is the Cobra Starship music video Snakes on a Plane (Bring It), with an optional making-of documentary; five TV spots; two theatrical trailers for the film, plus the teaser and sneak peeks for other New Line DVD releases.
Popping the disc into a DVD-Rom drives allows you to access some interactive content like exclusive Web links.
THE INSIDE PULSE
Snakes on a Plane is awesomely bad. Sure, that may be an oxymoron, but it is the best way to define this glorified B-movie. By combining two of our greatest fears, flying and snakes, we get a stupid, big budget popcorn attraction. The concept, while far fetched, works because of its tongue-in-cheek nature. And when you have Samuel L. Jackson as the star, not to mention a 22-foot Burmese Python named Kitty, how does your mouth not water? As for the DVD, New Line gives us impressive audio and video and a nice variety of special features, as well. If you are a fan of B-movies, this is definitely worth a rental.
