Snowpiercer (2013) – Review

There have been many post-apocalyptic movies dealing with civilization crumbling due to a variety of catastrophes, from man-made to Mother Nature striking back, and Joon-ho Bong, director of The Host (the monster one not the drippy Stephenie Meyer’s one), has now certainly made one of the better installments in this particular genre. Think The Road Warrior only with a frozen world instead of a desert, and a lead that makes Mad Max seem a happy-go-lucky guy. Based on the graphic novel Le Transperceneige, by Jean-Mar Rochette, we get a very grim tale of few against many, in a very, very cold world.

The story takes place 17 years after mankind tried to stop Global Warming, by seeding the atmosphere with a chemical that would halt the warming and bring down the temperature, unfortunately, it worked a little too well and froze all life on Earth. The only survivors are those “lucky” enough to be aboard the Snowpiercer, an amazing train that continually circles the globe all while keeping its closed eco-system safe from the frozen wastelands outside.  Now it isn’t all sunshine and lollipops for everyone on board, as there is a strict class structure dividing the train into First Class, Economy and the Tail Section, and you certainly don’t want to be in the Tail Section as it makes the steerage section aboard the Titanic look like Club Med.

No one dances an Irish Jig here.

The people of the Tail Section are led by Curtis (Chris Evans), who represents the physical will of his people, while Gilliam (John Hurt) could be considered their intellectual center, and young Edgar (Jamie Bell), who is clearly the heart.

Captain Antarctica

Things are bad in the Tail Section as they must survive on eating horrible protein gel cubes, live in very cramped conditions, not to mention the nice fact that occasionally they have their children stolen by those who run the train, for who knows what purpose.  And if you find yourself on their shit list you will either be put in prison, which is basically a body-sized drawer, or you have your arm stuck outside of the train until it freezes solid and then shatters. There have been previous rebellions, all of which failed, but Curtis has been getting secret messages telling him about a prisoner (Kang-ho Song), a former security officer who can open the doors between train compartments, and with this edge, the revolution may stand a chance.

Tilda Swinton as the slimy bureaucrat Mason

This film is a taut action thriller, set in a bleak dystopian future, is populated with a fantastic cast, one that never fails to engage the viewer. As the rebel group fights their way car by car towards the “The Engine” taking on murderous axe gangs and elite killers, as they claw tooth and nail through the levels of society, all towards something even they aren’t sure of.

Not a warm and fuzzy security force.

Director Joon-ho Bong has done an amazing job creating this small world of survivors amongst a global disaster, and as each minute ticks by we the viewer are treated to both wondrous and disturbing images, as our heroes discover the secrets of the Snowpiercer as well as secrets about themselves. This film wasn’t really promoted all that well, which is a shame as it’s one of the best I’ve seen this year, and this isn’t just an action flick, though it does have great action set pieces, it’s a movie that also has a strong message about the world we live in now.

“It’s the end of the world as we know it. And I feel fine.”