Review of Snowpiercer (2013) by Nesbitt10 — 26 Jun 2014

A stunning, visionary example of dystopian science-fiction cinema at its best, South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's "Snowpiercer" is based on the French graphic novel - a blockbuster rich in style that successfully breaks through cultural and political boundaries.“Snowpiercer” is brought to the big screen and offers a solid narrative, carefully drawn characters and — above all — respect for the audience’s intelligence in high-concept genre cinema. While “Snowpiercer” and its world may be implausible, it's most certainly engaging, and further helping matters is Bong’s impressive, sprawling international cast anchored by Chris Evan's strong central performance.

"Snowpiercer" is set in a distant future where a man-made ecological disaster has triggered a new ice age that has engulfed the planet and killed off all but a few hundred lucky survivors. Upending the social structure of society and transposing it horizontally, the upper-class has become first-class on the Rattling Ark - a gigantic speed train that contains a literal microcosm of a contemporary neoliberal society. The fortunate in the front of the train rule over the rest, where the rich dictate the rules in order to oppress the poor and underprivileged.

Bong’s vivid depictions -- aided by Ondrej Nekvasil’s production design and Hong Kyung-pyo’s cinematography are beautifully orchestrated and captivating for the most part. That being said, one of the more significant issues with the film is the overuse of CGI in places, which does look sub-par at times, like stylized segments from a 1990's video game.

Joon-ho creates an air of mystery and intrigue - as the passengers progress from the dark, rear tail of the train to the opulent splendour of the front carriages, "Piecer" evolves steadily, slowing providing information and further enriching its story with enough magic and wonder to suspend our disbelief entirely. The film's pacing is measured, but never slacks with adequate time taken out for nuanced, character-building scenes. You may recognize lots of inherent holes and flaws in its journey to salvation, but the movie confidently pushes its premise throughout its 126 minute run time.

By the end, the film reveals itself as a surprisingly thoughtful contemplation projecting the problems of today into a science-fiction tomorrow, while it ties together a compelling story that continuously shifts. We all think we know what will happen here; the downtrodden are pushed to the limit, and as a result, they unite and rebel against their oppressors - exactly as we've seen countless times in a number of other sci-fi movies and it's all a bit predictable. "Snowpiecer" is the exception.