Snakes on a Plane Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Snakes on a Plane Blu-ray Movie Review

They wanted him dead. They sent snakes to do the job. But they didn't count on Samuel L. Jackson!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 2, 2009

Is that Playstation or XBox?

If there was ever a mainstream movie that gave itself away as a being nothing more than a ridiculous, over-the-top, not-at-all-serious movie based on its title alone, that movie would be Snakes on a Plane. Goofy, of zero artistic merit, and a whole lot of fun, Snakes on a Plane isn't for the highbrow cinema-as-art crowd but instead for anyone wiling to simply sit back and enjoy the show. Snakes on a Plane is a ridiculous movie with a ridiculous premise that's as absurd as anything ever committed to film, and it's a breath of fresh air that shows just how "good" a "bad" movie can be.

A snake on a plane!

Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips) witnesses the brutal slaying of a Hawaiian prosecutor by the notorious mobster Eddie Kim (Byron Lawson). Just before he himself is killed in his own home by Eddie's goons, Jones is rescued by FBI agent Neville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson, Lakeview Terrace), who later convinces Jones to testify against Kim. Jones and Flynn must fly from Hawaii to Los Angels for the trial, and the feds commandeer the flight's entire first class section for themselves. With the flight's eclectic group of passengers herded into coach, the flight gets underway without major incident. That's all about to change, though; Eddie's arranged for hundreds of venomous snakes to be unleashed from the plane's cargo section! Slithering up dresses, biting children, devouring dogs, and swallowing whole at least one passenger, chaos soon reigns onboard. Agent Flynn and the passengers must band together to save themselves, the plane, and the key witness before the creatures bring the whole plane down in the middle of the Pacific!

As a film that aimed to be an over-the-top cult classic-in-the-making from its inception, Snakes on a Plane is jam-packed with cliché, and in a case like this, cliché actually makes the movie all the better. The flight is packed with an appropriately eclectic bunch of passengers: a sensitive-to-germs rapper and his entourage, a stewardess on her last flight (the equivalent of a cop three days from retirement?), an older stewardess that actually is past retirement, a guy that gets nervous flying, a kick boxer, a flirtatious girl and her fashion accessory dog, a rude businessman, a woman and her baby, and a couple of kids flying solo, just for starters. It's not hard to keep up with them due to their drastically differing personas and looks, but it helps the movie to have several identifiable -- for better or for worse -- characters. It's when the action gets going, though, that the clichés really start to hit the fan. There's the odd one-liner; the passengers that "misbehave" on the flight are the first to go; snakes jump out of every conceivable hiding place; and people are bitten on every single human appendage imaginable. The action is rather straightforward; there's never much mystery as to who will live and die or whether or not Flynn can save the day, but it's nevertheless a whole lot of fun on the flight towards the inevitable conclusion.

Fitting right in with the movie's ridiculous premise and equally absurd execution is appropriately over-the-top acting; Jackson manages to keep a straight face through the whole thing, but that doesn't take away from the comedic undertones that are to be found throughout. Even secondary characters deliver passable performances in the context of the story; they all seem to embrace the material for what it is, playing it straight but with an underlying hilarity that makes for the movie's true selling point. Snakes on a Plane works so well because it seems to, on the surface, take itself as seriously as any other movie out there. The winks and nods to the audience come at a rapid pace, and even the lighter moments -- most of which come during the action sequences -- are handled with just the right amount of TLC so as to keep the story moving and retain a mostly serious tone, but at the same time deliver laugh-out-loud moments that prove funny because everything about the movie is so goofy. The film is directed, edited, scored, and otherwise assembled for maximum effect to, again, maintain a semblance of seriousness but at the same time allow for the ridiculousness to shine through. Though the film does feature some iffy special snake effects, they, too, add to the movie's undeniable appeal to audiences that can take the movie at face value and appreciate the sometimes subtle and at other times not-so-subtle winks and nods that make Snakes on a Plane a one-of-a-kind movie experience.

Snakes on a Plane Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Snakes on a Plane slithers onto Blu-ray with a solid 1080p, 2.39:1-framed transfer. Bright, bold, and colorful, the film's opening act delivers a crystal-clear image with a superb level of detail; an excellent sense of depth; and clarity and sharpness across the entire image, both in the foreground and the background. The image takes a far darker tone once the in-flight action begins. Lighting is dim, there's a noticeable haze throughout the set, and the blue airplane seats tend to blend into the darkness. Speaking of, black levels appear as acceptable throughout, and skin tones retain a neutral shade. Despite the darkened environment, the real snakes used on-set look nice, each appropriately colorful, slimy, and nicely textured. It's not at all difficult to spot the real ones versus the CGI ones, and the real snakes lend to the transfer another notch in its belt while the CGI snakes just look, well, bad. The transfer retains a noticeable level of grain throughout that lends to the image a solid, film-like appearance. Despite a hint of blocking in a couple of the very darkest shots, Snakes on a Plane delivers a winning transfer on Blu-ray.

Snakes on a Plane Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Snakes on a Plane makes its Blu-ray debut with only one soundtrack: a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix. The soundtrack delivers a solid and mostly consistent rear-channel presence throughout; whether screaming passengers, hissing snakes, an alarm in the cockpit, or simply the hum of the engines before the tumult and chaos begins, the track does a good job of engulfing listeners into the action. Turbulence rocks the soundstage on more than one occasion, resulting in a good amount of bass. A scene near the end of the film features a full-blown gust of surround activity; all that's missing is a cold breeze. Gunshots never sound puny, and dialogue reproduction is spot-on accurate throughout. Snakes on a Plane doesn't deliver a particularly memorable listen, but it's well above-average in every regard.

Snakes on a Plane Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Snakes on a Plane unleashes several bonus materials for this Blu-ray release. First up is a feature-length commentary track with Director David R. Ellis, Actor Samuel L. Jackson, Producer Craig Berenson, Associate Producer Tawny Ellis, VFX Supervisor Erik Henry, and 2nd Unit Director Freddie Hice. As expected of not only a group commentary but a group commentary on a movie called Snakes on a Plane, this one delivers plenty of lighthearted moments and an overall easygoing, fun, and casual tone. The participants discuss the film's origins, the change in director (Ronny Yu of Freddy vs. Jason fame was originally set to direct), Samuel L. Jackson's involvement, the buzz surrounding the film on the Internet and the controversy surrounding the title (including some participants' reluctance to work on a film with such a straightforward and B-movie title), the work of the hundreds of snakes on the film, and much more. Fans will be ecstatic with the quality of this track. Next up is Pure Venom: The Making of 'Snakes on a Plane' (1080i, 18:06), an entertaining but ultimately basic behind-the-scenes piece that features the obligatory collection of cast and crew interview clips and footage from both the set and the final film. The participants discuss the film's mixture of people's fear of flying and fear of snakes, the work of Samuel L. Jackson, the importance of strong characterization, set design, the presence of snakes on the set, and more.

Meet the Reptiles (480p, 12:59) takes a more in-depth look at the work of the film's slithery stars. The piece begins with cast and crew sharing their thoughts on the creatures and moves on to look at the work of snake wrangler Jules Sylvester and the look and performances of the snakes. VFX (480p, 5:21) is a brief featurette that shows viewers the process of digitally animating some of the snakes that appear in the film. Snakes on a Blog (1080i, 10:07) examines the role of the Internet in marketing the film. Next up is the music video Snakes on a Video by Cobra Starship (1080p, 3:18), accompanied by a look into the making of the video (480p, 8:57). Also included is a gag reel (480p, 4:41); 10 deleted scenes (480p, 11:51) with optional commentary by Director David R. Ellis, Associate Producer Tawny Ellis, and Producer Craig Berenson; the film's teaser (480p, 0:59) and theatrical (480p, 1:24 & 1:07) trailers; and five TV spots (480p, 2:41 combined runtime).

Snakes on a Plane Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For a movie that banked on its title and Samuel L. Jackson's memorable line, Snakes on a Plane gets just about everything right. It's highly entertaining, delivers completely on its ridiculous premise, and it requires no thought to enjoy. About as far from art house-style filmmaking as a movie can be, Snakes on a Plane welcomes audiences willing to just sit back and enjoy the ride, absurdities and clichés included. New Line's Blu-ray release is up to par. Featuring a solid technical presentation and a decent collection of extras, this is the sort of title that's a must-own for fans of motion pictures of all types. Recommended.