Mc-Snakes on a Plane (2006)

"...[Jackson] glowers and growls and acts the hero better than any actor out there.  Chris Kaltenbach, Baltimore Sun
"Hilariously funny, full of fang-popping scares, and guaranteed to increase travel by train.  Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
"Action-packed...  Pete Hammond, Maxim
"...the most exuberantly trashy delight of this summer movie season or last.  Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly
"A phenomenon...  Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Editor's Note SNAKES ON A PLANE's magnificently self-explanatory title triggered a cascade of buzz and anticipation, and fans of truth in advertising will be relieved to learn that the movie lives up to its billing in every way: there are many snakes, they are on an airplane, Samuel L. Jackson is there to show them who's boss, and the results are just as fun as they are silly. Jackson stars as Nelville Flynn, an FBI agent escorting a witness (Nathan Phillips) on a flight to Los Angeles. Phillips is supposed to testify against an evil mobster, but the details really aren't important, and the filmmakers are smart enough to focus on what counts: a variety pack of poisonous snakes is released mid-flight. To make matters worse, the snakes are crazed and violent because of pheromones, leading to the truly classic Samuel L. Jackson line, "Great. Snakes on crack." With the notable exception of Jackson, most of the cast couldn't act its way out of an airplane barf bag, but that's probably for the best, as good performances would only serve as a distraction from the snakes--who have no trouble springing out of luggage compartments, toilets, and even mouths. The flight includes a standard array of monster-bait, including an arrogant rapper (Flex Alexander), his bodyguard (Kenan Thompson), a flight attendant on her last trip (Julianna Margulies), a rich princess (Rachel Blanchard), and an irritable misanthrope (Gerard Plunkett). But mostly, there are snakes. The script is full of punch lines, some intentional and others not, but the movie expertly treads the line between spoof and sincere B-movie, and fans of both genres should be thoroughly satisfied.

	David Koechner
	Flex Alexander
	Julianna Margulies
	Kenan Thompson
	Lin Shaye
	Nathan Phillips
	Rachel Blanchard
	Samuel L. Jackson
	Adam Greenberg - Cinematographer
	Craig Berenson - Producer
	David R. Ellis - Director
	Howard E. Smith - Editor
	John Heffernan, et. al. - Writer
	Stokely Chaffin - Executive Producer
	Trevor Rabin - Original Music By

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "SNAKES ON A PLANE is designed to chomp down on our jaded jugulars and pump a bracingly gush of lunatic charm." 10/01/2006 p.40

Ultimate DVD
"Sam Jackson's slithery slab of silliness surprised everyone by actually being rather good despite its loony premise." 08/01/2006 p.73

ReelViews 7 of 10
Samuel L. Jackson is on record as saying this movie isn't for critics. He's right about that. The problem is, it's not for many other people, either. Unless they're stoned. Or drunk. Or just enjoy making fun of bad movies (in other words, the Mystery Science Theater 3000 audience). Most of the time, when a studio decides to hide a film from critics, they do so on the sly. With Snakes on a Plane, New Line Cinema has trumpeted the fact, using this marketing line: "We want the fans to see it first." Translation: we don't want any negative advance word spoiling a big opening day. They needn't have worried, however. Critics could spew bile in reviews, and it wouldn't make a bit of difference at the box office. Snakes on a Plane is motherf***in' fireproof. Director David Ellis has made the film he was hired to make. - James Berardinelli

Variety 8 of 10
Whatever it may be -- the worst candidate for an in-flight movie since "United 93," a fascinating case study on the power of Internet publicity, a chance for Samuel L. Jackson to kick some serious asp -- New Line's long-awaited "Snakes on a Plane" is at its best when it surrenders to the exuberant trashiness and matter-of-fact hilarity promised by its title...Sound design throughout comprises a lot of screaming and engine noise, with regular shock notes provided by Trevor Rabin's suitably menacing score. Closing credits are accompanied by the musicvideo for Cobra Starship's "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)," one of the first and scarcely the least of the pic's numerous pop-song tributes. - Justin Chang