Snowpiercer (2013)
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Stars: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda SwintonRuntime: 126 minutes
Synopsis: In a future where a failed climate-change experiment has killed all life except for the lucky few who boarded the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe, a new class system emerges.
Performances: 8/10
Screenplay: 6/10
Editing: 6/10
Cinematography: 8/10
Score/Soundtrack: 7/10
Screenplay: 6/10
Editing: 6/10
Cinematography: 8/10
Score/Soundtrack: 7/10
Verdict: "Snowpiercer" is the film that put Bong Joon Ho on the map for many people. Whether it's for his altercations with Harvey Weinstein or the simple yet very effective premise, the movie had a modest box office run when it opened but has been gaining in popularity ever since.
Starring the likes of Chris Evans, Jamie Bell or Tilda Swinton, "Snowpiercer" is definitely Bong's most "American" film. The dialogue, with Song Kang-ho's lines as an exception, is nearly all in English, and the structure very much feels video-game like, as it follows a group of people going from car to car in a train, attempting to reach its front where the wealthy reside. You see, "Snowpiercer" takes place in a near future where civilization has perished and where the only survivors reside in a train in which class separation often sparks tensions between the poor, thrown at the train's tail, and the rich, living in luxury at the front. One day, the poor decide that they've had enough, and, led by Chris Evans' character, charge towards the front in order to conquer it and with it the entire train. The themes are very similar to the themes found in "Parasite", with class separation being obviously a major one, but while I do enjoy the film very much, I consider it to be one of Bong's weakest. The production design, acting, camera work, and story are all great, but I believe that the film is let down by lines of dialogue driven by exposition and needless foreshadowing. The pacing, while the most part being pretty good, took a blow at the end of the second act which unnecessarily went on for far too long without being as interesting as what preceded it.
It says a lot about Bong's quality as a filmmaker when I label this effort as being one of my least favorite of his, because it's still a movie that overall works pretty well and that I can completely see myself revisiting in the future. It's not perfect by any means, but it's still heavy, well-acted, and driven by well-developed and very relevant themes. Check it out if you haven't already!
Starring the likes of Chris Evans, Jamie Bell or Tilda Swinton, "Snowpiercer" is definitely Bong's most "American" film. The dialogue, with Song Kang-ho's lines as an exception, is nearly all in English, and the structure very much feels video-game like, as it follows a group of people going from car to car in a train, attempting to reach its front where the wealthy reside. You see, "Snowpiercer" takes place in a near future where civilization has perished and where the only survivors reside in a train in which class separation often sparks tensions between the poor, thrown at the train's tail, and the rich, living in luxury at the front. One day, the poor decide that they've had enough, and, led by Chris Evans' character, charge towards the front in order to conquer it and with it the entire train. The themes are very similar to the themes found in "Parasite", with class separation being obviously a major one, but while I do enjoy the film very much, I consider it to be one of Bong's weakest. The production design, acting, camera work, and story are all great, but I believe that the film is let down by lines of dialogue driven by exposition and needless foreshadowing. The pacing, while the most part being pretty good, took a blow at the end of the second act which unnecessarily went on for far too long without being as interesting as what preceded it.
It says a lot about Bong's quality as a filmmaker when I label this effort as being one of my least favorite of his, because it's still a movie that overall works pretty well and that I can completely see myself revisiting in the future. It's not perfect by any means, but it's still heavy, well-acted, and driven by well-developed and very relevant themes. Check it out if you haven't already!
FINAL GRADE: 7/10
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