Review of Snowpiercer (2013) by Ahnehnois — 09 Jul 2014

A whimsical dystopia with a (gasp) perchant for class warfare. Like the train on which it is set, the plot follows a number of twists and turns but was always going where it ended up. Unlike many films of this sort; the climax is engaging, appropriate, and not a let-down or a cop-out.

Don't ask why moving around the train requires one to pass through saunas, kitchens, and schools in a way that defies practicality, or how the perpetual motion machine at the front works, or what the stuff is that somehow sent the entire world into winter faster than a nuclear war ever could. And don't question the caricatures that populate this train (Tilda Swinton in particular seemed to be having a blast). The movie has fun action, and is just cerebral enough to hold a viewer's interest, and is slickly produced.

An odd note was the idea of casting Captain America as a grizzled antihero, but Chris Evans is a good enough actor to sell it. CGI pops up occasionally, and isn't quite up with the best films but it holds up enough.

It's a tough movie to find in theaters, but worth the search.