Looking at: Snowpiercer

http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2014/06/05/05-snowpiercer_poster.o.jpg/a_560x0.jpg

Winter Soldier

http://bd.casterman.com/docs/Albums/44387/9782203027596.jpg

Original French graphic novel.

Snowpiercer is another example of the globalization of film making. It's a Korean adaptation of a French graphic novel, staring a largely American and British cast. It's kind of hard to classify Snowpiercer for a lot of reasons, and it's messed up DNA doesn't help this. At times its a balls-to-the-walls action flick, while other times its a hard pointed drama about post-apocalyptic life, and other times it plays like a thriller, with underequiped protagonists struggling to survive. Whatever it is, it's a really damn good movie.

The setup and large majority of the plot are pretty straight forward. To combat climate change the UN pumped the atmosphere full of chemical cooling agents. The chems worked to well and now the earth is stuck in a second ice age. A group of survivors literally ride out the cold on a giant luxury train, with the high class living in the front section and the lower class living in the rear.

Chris Evans plays Curtis, a rear section passenger that's grown fed-up with the class disparity. He leads a rebellion on the orders of his ancient mentor, John Hurt's Gilliam, against the oppressive forward section. That encapsulates pretty much the whole movie, just a series of scenes showing Curtis' rebellion slowly moving forward, aided by Kang-Ho Song (previously best known for The Host, no not that one) as security specialist Namgoong.

On a Rail

http://espngrantland.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/snowpiercer-2-hp.gif

Opening shot to one of the most brutal hand-to-hand fights since the hammer fight.

This isn't a quiet rebellion. There are a number of protracted fights, made even more brutal by the lack of ammunition on Snowpiercer. Easily the most stand out scene is the axe fight relatively early in the film, but there are a number of really well put together fights. The cinematography of the film is brilliant, save for one short scene of out of place shakey-cam action. The lighting in each scene is fantastic, setting the mood and changing it based on what's going on. Shots are immaculately composed, and everything is very easy to follow, which is especially excellent in large scale crowd scenes.

Aiding this is the great cast. Chris Evens is turning into one of the better action stars working today, between films like The Losers, Snowpiercer, and of course Captain America. Kang-ho Song is great as the drug addled security expert, only helping the rebellion to support his drug habit. Ed Harris and John Hurt both give great performances as the old voices of wisdom on the train. Even the minor parts like Jamie Bell as Curtis' best friend or Tilda Swinton as the authoritative Councillor Mason are fantastic to watch.

See the World, Frozen Solid

http://www.btchflcks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/chrisevanssnowpiercer.jpeg

Chris Evans' Curtis earns his leadership.

The best thing about Snowpiercer is how it constructs its world. Everything is explained in time, with every question eventually answered. More then that it constructs a believable world within the train, with the engine being revered as a god and the engineer it's keeper. The front section holds a religious fervor for the engine and are willing to lay their lives down to protect it. The passage of time is judged based on landmarks along the tracks. The movie even builds a complete history for the train, talking about the early days, or discussing the past rebellion attempts. It creates a fully believable world, and you get a sense of what's going on and why at all times.

There are some leaps in logic that need to be made in order to enjoy Snowpierecer. The layout of the train doesn't really make sense if you stop to think about it. Several scenes come across as bizarre comedy that feels out of place. There's some noticeably poor CG whenever the outside world is shown. There are some other minor complaints, but the good way outweighs the bad here and it's such a believable world and an enjoyable movie that you'll likely gloss right over these.

Snowpiercer is a fantastic movie built on some truly original ideas. It's not perfect but it's a damn fun movie that mixes action, suspense, and drama together in one of the most fully realized worlds I've ever scene. I know this is a short review, but that's because I believe Snowpierecer is so good that you really owe it to yourself to watch it.