Before I get into my opinion of this movie, allow me to fill you in on its background, if you don’t already know. Last year, New Line released the titles of the movies they had in development, one of which was “Snakes on a Plane”. This was greeted with the comment, “That’s the worst title I’ve ever heard,” which was followed immediately by, “That’s the best title I’ve ever heard.” It was obvious, it didn’t beat around the bush, and it told you exactly what you were going to get. It was then announced that it would star Samuel L. Jackson. Almost immediately fake trailers appeared on the internet, pieced together from his other movies, clever voiceovers, simple effects and the like. The most famous included Samuel L. Jackson (or someone imitating him) saying, “That’s it, I’ve had it with these mothaf—in’ snakes on this mothaf—in’ plane.” This line was latched onto by fans and the internet community as the sort of thing they expected from this movie. Many fan sites sprung up, and the title began being used among internet geeks as an actual phrase in everyday conversation, meaning that things were as bad as they could get (e.g. “That test was snakes on a plane”). It was even featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered”.

Then, New Line started throwing wrenches into the internet machine. First, they announced that the title was going to be changed to “Pacific Air 121”, the reason cited being that “Snakes on a Plane” gave away too much of the plot. There was a massive outcry not only from the internet community, but from Samuel L. Jackson, to have the title changed back. Eventually New Line gave in and went back to “Snakes on a Plane”, but not before they announced that the movie would be PG-13, to appeal to a wider market. This time the protests were much louder, because a PG-13 rating not only meant that the movie would not be as scary or gory as it should be, but that Jackson wouldn’t be able to deliver the line that everyone had grown to love. Once again the demands of the public were met, and the director called the cast back to film more scenes, adding gore, violence, nudity, drugs and, of course, foul language. New Line began to realize what a powerful force the internet was, and began to cater to the fans more and more. They even held a contest where people could record their own songs about the movie and the top 2 would get featured in the movie and on the soundtrack. Nothing like this had ever been done, and the internet hype saved New Line millions in advertising.

Unfortunately, despite seeing the movie twice myself on opening weekend, it failed to perform up to all the hype, bringing in a moderate for an R-rated horror movie $15.3 million at the box office.

I saw the film at the first showing, at 10 o’clock last Thursday night (the night the AC in my car died). In the theater with me were two groups, and what apparently was a teacher, all wearing SoaP (Snakes on a Plane) t-shirts, and several other scattered individuals. The opening credits, which take place over beautiful shots of Hawaii, were greeted with applause and cheers when the title and Jackson’s name appeared. That was how this movie was destined to go. Most of you know that I generally can not stand people talking or making noise during a movie. However, this was not a movie, it was an event, as much social as artistic. We whooped and hollered and screamed and laughed as a group, and even though we didn’t know each other, we were all sharing the same experience. And when, after discovering the dead co-pilot and a cockpit full of snakes, Samuel L. Jackson finally said, “Enough is enough! I have had it with these mothaf—in’ snakes on this mothaf—in’ plane! Everybody strap in, I’m about to open some f—in’ windows,” we all cheered and yelled the line with him. And as the credits rolled we all stayed and sang along to Cobra Starship’s “Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)”, the contest winning song/video, which played alongside the scrolling names. It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had at a movie that didn’t have “Star Wars” in the title.

But what does that say about the movie? Is it good, or is it so bad it’s fun, or is it just plain bad but you enjoyed it anyway? These questions are why I saw it a second time. Now, I don’t like scary movies, not at all, especially not ones where things jump out and get you (I do like Hitchcock and classics like “The Exorcist” and “Poltergeist”), so it was a big stretch seeing it again. Granted, it is not nearly as scary the second time through. What surprised me is that the movie was just as enjoyable as an individual experience (the theater atmosphere was totally different the second time) as it was a group experience. While not as cheer inducing the second time through, it was much more impressive. The action scenes are very well staged, even if overly contrived. The humor is just as funny the second time through. The moments designed to be touching and dramatic actually feel as such, not as filler between asp-kicking. The cool factor is just as strong, as is the fun. While not a great movie as far as action, humor, horror or drama goes, this movie has everything working and working well. Not impressive enough to stand out above the rest, but it fits right in and keeps you smiling. While this movie will most likely be known for a great title and one-liner as well as for its unique back story and relative failure at the box office, it will nevertheless remain a very good film. Perhaps that is why it did not do as well as many had hoped. It is too good to be “so bad it’s good” for the people who like movies like Napoleon Dynamite (which is actually so bad it’s horrible and the worst movie I’ve ever seen), and it is not such a standout that it would draw crowds of people who did not follow the movie through it’s interesting journey.

But I for one can’t wait for the sequel “Rats on a Plane”… “Where the f— is a snake when you need one?”

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