{"id":11685,"date":"2014-06-28T00:49:10","date_gmt":"2014-06-28T06:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=11685"},"modified":"2014-06-28T00:49:10","modified_gmt":"2014-06-28T06:49:10","slug":"snowpiercer-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=11685","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Snowpiercer\u2019 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Snowpiercer<\/p>\n

Snowpiercer<\/em><\/strong><\/a> imagines a future where an attempt to fix global warming backfires, plunging earth into another ice age. The only survivors of the calamity are the passengers aboard \u201cThe Snowpiercer,\u201d a massive train powered by a perpetual engine, which makes one lap around the globe on a yearly cycle. Within the microcosm world of the Snowpiercer, a social hierarchy is quickly established: the poor, weak, and destitute are confined to the tail, while the wealthy, powerful and affluent members of society live towards the front of the train, where their leader\/god \u2013 the industrialist Mr. Wilford \u2013 dutifully maintains the engine.<\/p>\n

The twist comes when a young tough from tail section named Curtis (Chris Evans) decides to lead his people in revolt. After quickly seizing control of a few cars, Curtis and company free prisoner Namgoong Minsoo (Kang-ho Song), the security officer who built the doors to each section of the train, as well as his eccentric daughter, Yona (Ah-sung Ko). Namgoong agrees to aid the revolution for a price: Curtis must supply him with a piece of \u201cKronol\u201d (an addictive drug made out of toxic waste) for every door hacked into. With a plan to guide them, Curtis and his rebels begin to claim car after car in the name of socioeconomic justice; however, Snowpiercer\u2019s bureaucratic overlord, Mason (Tilda Swinton), won\u2019t let Curtis succeed without a fight. As blood begins to flow, the Curtis revolution not only upsets the social order \u2013 it could literally derail The Snowpiercer and bring and end to humanity\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

\"Snowpiercer<\/p>\n

The newest work of Korean filmmaker Joon-ho Bong (The Host<\/em> (cult-classic 2006 monster movie, not the Stephenie Meyer tween drama)), Snowpiercer <\/em>is a piece B-movie science fiction brought to life in highly impressive fashion and distinguished by the uniqueness of its world, the compellingly oddball characters that populate it, and a signature filmmaking style that has earned\u00a0Joon-ho Bong a cult following. And it\u2019s a following that is sure to grow exponentially, if he keeps making movies like this one.<\/p>\n

On a directorial level,\u00a0Joon-ho makes the most out of a modest budget (estimated at $39.6 million) to create the world of the Snowpiercer train society. Maybe the sole flaw in the movie is that, at times, its visual effects show their budgetary limitations (see: exterior shots of the frozen world or moving train); but for the most part, the sets (and characters) are gritty and dark and convincingly real in their near-future designs and tech. Each \u201ccar\u201d of the train reveals a set piece distinctly different than the one before, yet consistent within the context and aesthetic of the film. Each step of the journey is made to be worthwhile and interesting \u2013 often chilling, like something out of an Orwellian nightmare \u2013 and sci-fi fans will get a kick out of this particular version of the post-apocalyptic (dis)order.<\/p>\n

\"School<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say that Joon-ho\u2019s achievement can only be measured in aesthetic; there is some great direction at work in the film \u2013 from the shot choices and imagery, to the brutal action sequences that come in unrelenting and violent waves. Snowpiercer