The idea was genius. Make a movie that is a completely random based on an idea that is completely ludicrous, give it a crazy title, do zero advertising, and let the movie generate hype through the new generation’s version of word of mouth: blogging.
Pure genius. The trailer basically says nothing at all, which in essence is the beauty of the whole marketing concept of the movie…you don’t need to say anything at all as the title gives it away – the movie is going to be about snakes on a plane. Give up that much, and leave it up to the bloggers to market the movie. And market it they have. People have come up with their own trailers, songs, scenes…everything. The movie has taken the country by storm, and now after all the waiting, the movie is finally out.
Now, being in Hong Kong at the moment and not having had the opportunity to watch the movie, I have been eager to see what kind of reception it gets in the US, and frankly, I have been surprised by how serious some critics have taken it, like they are expecting Snakes on Brokeback Mountain or something. I mean, seriously, how groundbreaking is the movie going to be? I haven’t even seen it and I know it will be basically a mindless action movie which requires 0% brainpower which will have you leaving the theater thinking “Well then, that is what all the hype was about…wanna go grab a beer?” The movie isn’t supposed to make you think “Oh my, what a fabulous story…the plot was amazing from start to finish…a true experience that made me see the other side of the madness that is snakes on a plane…”
According to some critics this movie, sold completely on viral marketing, failed to live up to the hype…Seriously? Wasn’t the hype that it would suck? That it would be just what the title made it out to be: a B movie based on a concept that someone must have come up with while they were wasted, with one line which is supposed to make the movie? This isn’t rocket science, so I wonder, how can you fail to live up to the hype, when you yourself have not hyped the movie at all?
Those few uptight critics aside, people have apparently liked the movie, enjoying it’s quirky plot and all the creative ways that the snakes kill people. Peter Howell, a movie critic for the Toronto Star, said it best in his review:
This is one cheesy movie, bereft of logic and scornful of everything from the law of gravity to physiological fundamentals regarding how long a person can survive with a lethal dose of toxin running through their veins.
But it’s cheese of the highest quality, and smart enough to know just how dumb it really is. It even resorts to that hoariest of 1970s disaster movie clichés, that of the feisty stewardess (Julianna Margulies) flying the aircraft. And it winks while doing so.
Make absolutely no mistake about this. Snakes on a Plane takes full advantage of two of the biggest fears of modern man — air travel and snake bites — and combines them into a terrifying (and terribly funny) package that may well put you off flying for life.
In short, Snakes on a Plane delivers exactly what it promised and then some. And how often can you say that about a movie these days?
Not bad for a movie that cost less than $40mm to make, and on opening night made $1.4mm. This summer, when movies like The DaVinci Code and Pirates 2 have, in my opinion, failed to live up to their hype, it seems to be refreshing to find a movie that lives up to the hype while providing some mindless entertainment and a few laughs. I’ll tell you who is laughing the most though - Sam Jackson, New Line Cinema, and the rest of the cast…laughing all the way to the bank.
Cheers,
Taps
P.S. For those who have seen the movie, please comment! I want to know what you thought…
