Snowpiercer

I paid good money to see this one! It is my hope that I post this review early enough to spare the rest of you.

This highly acclaimed movie, written and directed by award-winning Joon-ho Bong ("The Host" and "Mother") has accumulated accolades enough to convince me that I was silly to avoid it. To make things worse, I talked a friend into going with me!

We are on a speeding train that has been screeching through an icy terrain for 18 years (!), ever since chemicals were used in a global-warming experiment which destroyed Earth's climate. It is now eternal winter. The people in the back end of the train are filthy, diseased, missing limbs and semi-starved. Any children they might have are taken from them. Eventually, we learn that the people in the forward part of the train live singularly different lives of ease and abundance. It takes regularly scheduled intervals of violence to maintain this balance.

We cringe with:

• Chris Evans ("What's Your Number?"), who needs to wash his face and go back to being Captain America! His character is thinking seriously about a revolt.
• Jamie Bell ("The Adventures of Tintin") is another young man who is considering a rebellion.
• Kang-ho Song ("The Host") seems to know a lot about what's going on but his main concern seems to be his daughter. He has been in suspended animation (don't ask).
• John Hurt ("Hercules") is a one-legged elder statesman to the people in the rear of the train. Everyone looks up to him even though he is every bit as filthy and deprived as the rest.
• Octavia Spencer ("Fruitvale Station") Her little boy was taken from her, so she doesn't have to think twice when it comes to a revolution.
• Tilda Swinton ("The Grand Budapest Hotel") is deliciously villainous, so for me, one of the few high points of this film was when she bit the big one!
• Ed Harris ("Gravity" voice) When he appears, the end is in sight. Take hope!

Post-apocalyptic worlds are so clichéd by now. I hope a new trend starts soon. This is an R-rated actioner, so expect most scenes to be muddy, depressing and violent (hatchets anyone?). There is very little profanity but gunshots by the score. Expect only one explosion, but it's a game changer! I did NOT enjoy this movie.

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This should satisfy any curiosity you might have:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi630892825/
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