Snowpiercer: Movie
Netflix suggested this one to me a while ago, but I was hesitant. Netflix absolutely has its gems, but if any of you like to randomly roam its library, you know that it has an enormous amount of garbage. Fortunately a friend of mine put it on randomly while we were hanging out. Through all of the noise and drunken discussions, I found it interesting enough to watch on my own later. I have to say, I am very grateful for that night.
What it’s about: A company created a weather control device to counteract global warming. The system failed miserably and has frozen the entire planet to the point of where anyone outside would barely last minutes. One man, a rich engineer named Wilford, foresaw the device’s failure and built a massive train that is capable of traversing a world wide track once a year nonstop. If the train stops, it freezes and everyone aboard it will die.
This is particularly unfortunate, because the only people left alive on the planet are all aboard this train. The richer you are, the closer you are to the front and the very poorest live at the rear. The rich get and do whatever they want and they consistently travel to the rear to obtain workers and children for whatever tasks they see fit. There is even a massive difference in the food supplies between the front and the rear.
Enter Curtis, a man who has been on the train since it first went into motion seventeen years before the start of the movie. He and his crew, including Gilliam, the leader of the poor, have officially had enough and have decided to push toward the front of the train. They will make the elite pay for treating them so badly when they believe they all could live equally.
This is a really good movie. It’s an action packed sci-fi thriller filled to the brim with symbolism and commentary about economic and social classism. There are dozens of interesting details, down to the drug Kronole: an addictive substance that is created from the toxic runoff the train’s engine creates. The plot takes a lot of twists and turns and the reveals are mostly unpredictable.
The plot is somewhat unbelievable, but makes it point in many ways. It’s obvious the studio wanted get it right when you consider the fact that it’s a Korean movie filled with American talent. They obviously spared no expense. If you care about symbolism and social commentary or even if you just want to see people get murdered with axes a lot, this one deserves a shot.
Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.
