Review - Snakes on a Plane (2006)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. And, today I'm taking a look at the 2006 action thriller Snakes on a Plane, directed by David R. Ellis, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Sunny Mabrey, Kenan Thompson, Bobby Cannavale, Nathan Phillips, Flex Alexander, Elsa Pataky, David Koechner, Tom Butler, Todd Luiso, and Byron Lawson. 

       The movie opens in Hawaii, where pro surfer and extreme sports enthusiast Sean Jones witnesses Los Angeles crime boss Eddie Kim bludgeon the prosecuting attorney in the trial against Kim to death. Sean barely escapes, but Kim and his thugs hear Sean's motorbike, and now have a need to kill him. Following him to his apartment, Kim's thugs are dispatched by FBI agent Neville Flynn, who takes Sean into protective custody, and is set to escort him on a flight back to L.A. to testify against Eddie Kim. 

       To pull this off, the FBI books out First Class on Pacific Flight 121, forcing many of the First Class passengers to take empty seating on Coach. Among the passengers include rap icon Clarence "Three G's" Dewey and his guards Leroy and Troy, a mother named Maria and her baby, socialite Mercedes Harbont, kickboxer Chen Long, and two boys flying to be with their relative in LA. Eddie Kim's thugs, meanwhile, rig some paneling, plant something into the cargo area of the plane, and spray a crate full of leis with pheromones. 

       The flight takes off without a hitch, and Sean ends up growing attached to a flight attendant named Tiffany, while Flynn strikes up a few conversations with another flight attendant named Claire. Down in the cargo area, a timer activates, and eventually sets off a small explosive, which unleashes several hundred deadly snakes throughout the plane, with the snakes going after the avionics wiring, attack both pilot Sam McKeon and co-pilot Rick, and going after the passengers, including a guy taking a leak, and a couple smoking a joint and having sex. While many passengers die, unfortunately, a number do live, and Flynn gets them to move towards the front of the plane, and use luggage to set up a barricade. And, yes, one of the flight attendants tosses a snake into a microwave, which conveniently has a "Snake" setting. 

       Flynn puts in a call to Agent Harris, his colleague in L.A., and informs him that Eddie Kim somehow smuggled snakes onto the plane. Harris then mobilizes everyone to work on three things, set up a crisis unit at LAX, find the most notable snake expert in the area, and keep an eye on Eddie Kim. The snake expert, Dr. Steven Price, is picked up by Harris, and they call Flynn on the plane. Dr. Price surmises that the leis, which the snakes seem drawn to, could be laced with some kind of pheromone, which could be acting as a kind of drug inducing the snakes' aggressive behavior. And, this leads to my favorite line of the movie, where Flynn remarks "Well, that's good news. Snakes on crack." Using Mercedes' cell phone, Flynn is able to photograph the dead snakes and send the pics to Dr. Price, who is terrified to see that none of the snakes are from the North American continent, and thus no hospitals will have the antivenom that is needed. 

        On the plane, Flynn works with Claire to keep the plane from crashing when Rick goes missing, but does return to activate the autopilot. Sean brings the passengers into First Class, and they use an inflatable raft to keep the snakes downstairs. Flynn, later, has to head to the cargo area to reset the breaker and turn the airflow back on. Back on the ground, Dr. Price determines that for the amount of exotic snakes, Eddie Kim would have to have gone through a dealer who specializes in exotic and illegal snakes. Remembering Eddie Kim lives in L.A., Harris asks if he would have shopped locally, and Dr. Price reveals that he knows of a dealer, Kraitler, in the desert who could have handled such a massive shipment. Harris, Dr. Price, and other FBI agents head via helicopter to Kraitler's farm, where he takes a couple shots at Harris, who disarms him, but Kraitler is bit by a deadly serpent native to the Middle-East. Knowing what little time both he and Kraitler have, Harris withholds the antivenom in exchange for information, and Kraitler points to a clipboard with the list of every snake on the plane, confirms Eddie Kim paid him to do the job, and the leis were, indeed, sprayed with pheromones. Harris then makes the call for Eddie Kim's arrest on multiple charges of murder and attempted murder, and then remarks "and get that piece of shit attorney on the phone. Tell him to ask Kim what his preference is: gas or lethal injection." 

      Back on the plane, Flynn relays the news that the antivenom is secured for anyone who needs it when the plane lands at LAX. But, Rick succumbed to his snake bites and is dead, with a bunch on snakes in the cockpit. When Claire asks the passengers if anyone can fly a plane, Clarence volunteers Troy for the job. But, first, the snakes need to be cleaned out of the cockpit. And, it's here where we get the one line everyone remembers in this movie, when Flynn exclaims "Enough is enough! I have HAD it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane! Everybody strap in! I'm about to open some fucking windows." 

       The passengers strap in, Flynn shoots out two windows, and the cockpit door is pulled open to clear the snakes out. Oh, and the raft is sucked out, along with all of the snakes in the lower area of the plane. Flynn and Troy take control of the plane, and it's revealed that, well I think we all saw this coming, Troy's flight experience came from a PlayStation 2 game. But, he is literally the only one qualified to land the plane, and he does so safely. The passengers get off the plane, and Clarence even carries the boy who was bitten, while his brother shows Dr. Price his drawing of the snake that bit the little guy. Sean, on his way out, is bit by a snake, and Flynn shoots the snake. Luckily, Sean was wearing a bulletproof vest, so he's fine. Flynn asks Claire out on a date, Tiffany gives Sean her number and a kiss, and Sean and Flynn go surfing, ending the movie. 

       Snakes on a Plane is simple, stupid fun. I mean, you can't deny that this movie is stupid, but it's having fun with how stupid it is. The performances, aside from some of the leads like Samuel L. Jackson as Flynn, Nathan Phillips as Sean, Julianna Margulies as Claire, and Bobby Cannavale as Harris, were all mostly one note. Although, I will say that I did enjoy the likes of Elsa Pataky as Maria and Sunny Mabrey as Tiffany. The sheer concept of a crime boss having deadly snakes smuggled from L.A. to Hawaii, a six-hour flight, just to sneak them onto a plane bound for L.A. is absolutely illogical, but that wasn't the point of the movie. The point was to be entertaining, and the movie certainly was that. I freaking love Snakes on a Plane, and I give it a rating of 5/5. 

       But, the thing that made Snakes on a Plane stand out the way it did was the viral buzz the movie was getting on the internet, all based around the title and lead Star Samuel L. Jackson. Blog sites and fan videos of fake trailers, artwork, comics, and such went nuts for Snakes on a Plane. In fact, the viral buzz was so high that New Line Cinema even threw the filmmakers extra money for reshoots to meet fan expectations, adding more gruesome scenes of snakes attacking, and the iconic "I have HAD it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane" line. But, all the Internet hype was just that, and the movie underperformed at the box office. But, luckily, it did gain a cult following, so that's cool. 

      Anyway, guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.