Tired of Snakes on a Plane
You need to read this article from Esquire about snakes on a plane:
The “Snakes on a Plane” Problem
It is very well-written, and talks about the problem I’ve had with this movie ever since the day I first heard about it. Ironically, the author of the column has never seen the movie, which was the same situation in one of my previous posts. This is my favorite part:
I have not seen Snakes on a Plane, so I have no idea how good this movie is (or isn’t). But I do know this: Its existence represents a weird, semidepressing American condition, and I’m afraid this condition is going to get worse. I suspect Snakes on a Plane might earn a lot of money, which will prompt studios to assume this is the kind of movie audiences want. And I don’t think it is. Snakes on a Plane is an unabashed attempt at prefab populism, and (maybe) this gimmick will work once. But it won’t keep working, and it will almost certainly make filmmaking worse.
Wikipedia has all kinds of depressing trivia in the SOAP article. Here’s one on the product placement (I hate product placement; it’s disgusting) in the film:
The film includes several product placements including Kawasaki and Red Bull in the opening scenes, GMC Trucks driven by Eddie Kim, onscreen use of a Sony PSP and mention of an Xbox and a PlayStation 2 (which is credited by Flynn as indirectly saving the plane: “All praise to the PlayStation!”), a Palm Treo 650 Smartphone (used by the character Mercedes to advance the plot, photographing the snakes and e-mailing the photos to rescue workers on the ground to have the right antivenom ready), Purell hand sanitizer, a Nintendo DS, San Pellegrino mineral water, and Pepsi products on the plane.
I will not see this movie.
November 2nd, 2006 at 1:09 am
i confess to having the same infatuation with the title and all the hype around it a lot of people did. then, when it actually came out, i found i had no overwhelming urge to actually see the movie. all of the reviews seemed to carry a sense of “yeah, its exactly what it says. so what?” i kind of felt the same way. i’m sure there is some entertainment in the outlandish premise, but maybe i’ll rent it or see it on tv. probably not. if i had actually gone to the theatre and paid 8 dollars for it, i would have gotten a mediocre, ridiculous action movie, and nobody but myself to blame for reacting to a ludicrous level of ironic internet buzz about a catchy title. is it a good title? yes. did it warrant the internet phenomenon it attracted? no.
November 9th, 2006 at 2:13 am
hahh! indeed… i’d sit through it if it were free
… and might need a trash can readily available in case of unexpected “illness.” lemmie know if ya rent it!