Rating of
3/4
WhatKorean dystopia fiction looks like onscreen
Indyfreak - wrote on 11/09/14
Alison Pill has a cameo playing a pregnant teacher wielding a machine gun that is knifed in the heart after leading a trippy singalong.
That is but one of the flat-out bizarre and off-the-wall moments that happen in Snowpiercer, a very very strange but furious blend of sci-fi dystopia, social commentary, and balls-to-the-wall action.
Economically filmed and directed in a restrained manner that is refreshing compared to most Hollywood action films, the script moves from point A to point B but it's never the same in each train car as a long-simmering rebellion explodes in the tail section (led by Chris Evans) and makes its way to an intense climax.
The cast is excellent, especially Chris Evans and his primary antagonist played by an unrecognizable Tilda Swinton. There's more noteworthy performers in the movie but I think I'd be spoiling the surprises for you.
Snowpiercer is a thrill ride of a popcorn movie with as one character puts it, a "devilishly unpredictable plot". What keeps it from being better is its bleak ending which pulls the rug out from audiences expecting something more hopeful.
