Review: High-concept ‘Snakes on a Plane’ produces dumb fun

Directed by: David R. Ellis

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Nathan Phillips, Rachel Blanchard

Rated: R

There’s a tried-and-true movie production philosophy referred to as “high-concept” filmmaking. Some of the most memorable and highest-grossing films of the past 30 years have been high-concept pieces.

The plots are easily described – to borrow a phrase from 1960s kid show icon Soupy Sales – “in 25 words or less.”

The prototypical high-concept film is Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws.” It’s a film wherein “a giant shark terrorizes a beach-front community.”

At last count, the “Jaws” box office gross was $260 million. That doesn’t include video sales and rentals, merchandising or advertising. That ain’t bad.

Recently, with the help of the Internet, a film once entitled “Pacific Air Flight 121” has taken the “high-concept” concept to new heights.

In 2003, New Line Cinema optioned an original screenplay by John Heffernan called “Snakes on a Plane.” The plot was good and took into account the post-Sept. 11 political climate. Typical “terror in the skies” airplane movies were considered to be too touchy a subject, but snakes on a plane – now that was workable.

The studio snagged box office-star Samuel L. Jackson. Everyone involved agreed on one thing: A name change was in order. Since the film’s milieu was aboard Pacific Air Flight 121, it seemed like that was a good place to start.

Enter the movie bloggers. Someone with a good deal of free time on his hands discovered the original title and blog entries began buzzing about it. Soon Web sites like www.snakesonablog.com began popping up and the Web was buzzing about what some considered the best and/or most ludicrous title in the history of film.

(A new site, www.snakesonaplane.varitalk.com, lets you send a personalized message in Jackson’s voice to a friend.)

For months, film buffs have awaited the touchdown of “Snakes on a Plane” and the film arrived on time Aug. 18.

Samuel L. Jackson’s character in “Pulp Fiction,” Jules Winnfield, said he was going to give up the criminal life and walk the Earth doing good deeds.

Jackson’s FBI agent Neville Flynn in “Snakes” might be that character living his pledge. The first thing Flynn says to Sean Jones, an innocent bystander, is, “Do as I say, and you live.” He repeats this phrase several times throughout the film.

Flynn and the FBI convince Jones to be a witness for the prosecution in the murder trial of Hawaiian mobster Eddie Kim. The trick is keeping Jones alive long enough to get him from Honolulu to L.A. for the trial.

To keep things on the down low, the FBI doesn’t tip their hand. They wait until the last minute before commandeering the first-class section of a flight to L.A. Many of the displaced passengers are upset at the indignity of flying coach but not as upset as they are about to be when they encounter … snakes on a plane!

In a fast-paced plot with elements borrowed from “Airport,” “Airplane!,” “Die Hard,” “Alien,” and so on, things – snakes in particular – begin to come together in short order.

The reptiles slither forth from the cargo hold and begin sinking fangs into unsuspecting travelers in every way imaginable. One couple sneaks off to the restroom to smoke a joint and to become members of the mile-high club. No sooner than the buxom blonde gets topless, she’s bitten on the breast by a snake. Her boyfriend gets it as well. Another passenger in another restroom fares equally as he merely tries to relieve himself. A snake crawls up a sleeping woman’s dress and one creeps into the handbag of rich girl flying with her Chihuahua.

Is “Snakes on a Plane” dumb? Certainly, but it’s smart enough to know as much. Which is more than can be said for simply horrendous movies like “Basic Instinct 2” and “Click.”

Everyone involved does the job with tongues firmly in cheeks. And it’s all good, dumb fun.

On another interesting Internet note, New Line re-shot scenes based on ideas on the blogs. One of Jackson’s most memorable lines comes from an online parody preview. Many scenes – some with nudity and more gore – were added per fan suggestions as New Line struggled to increase the rating from PG-13 to R. If nothing else, “Snakes on a Plane” marks a new era of fan/film studio cooperation in the making and marketing of movies.

“Snakes on a Plane” earns the title of “Movie That Really Makes Me Miss the Drive-In.”

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.