Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Directed by: David R. Ellis
Premise: Samuel L. Jackson stars as an FBI agent escorting a murder witness on a jet when hoards of poisonous snakes are unleashed mid-flight.
What Works: The film is as silly as it sounds and that is the whole point. The dialogue is laughable, the scenario is ludicrous, and the computer-generated snakes look terrible. Yet, Snakes on a Plane is more enjoyable than a lot of the other films released this summer because it has no illusions about what it is. The film has a lot of laughs, both as gags and as self deprecating humor, and a lot of well placed jump scares.
What Doesn’t: As silly as the film is, Snakes on a Plane is not as funny as the premise would suggest. The thrills and laughs are there, but this is neither Airplane! nor is it Jaws.
Bottom Line: Snakes on a Plane is a bad film, but in a self-conscious way that is very enjoyable. The film has been designed to appeal to the fifteen year old in all of us and as that, Snakes on a Plane succeeds where so many of the films this summer have failed.
Episode: #107 (August 20, 2006)