Snowpiercer

Every once in a while, a movie comes along that feels like a game changer. It feels new and fresh, revolutionary, like something you've never seen before. Think The Matrix. And even if you don't necessarily like the movie (I disliked The Matrix, personally), you still have to appreciate the ballsy attempt at making something different and unique. The newest movie attempting to change the game is Snowpiercer and it's easily the best film I've seen this year.

The setting is in the near future. A new ice age has made every living thing extinct, and the only survivors are traveling on a global rail road. It takes exactly one year to ride the entire track and the train is more than a hundred cars long. But it's not a free for all on the train. The richest one percent live like kings at the front of the train. They've got nightclubs and schools and sauna's. They've got all the food and wine they could possibly want, along with drugs. Meanwhile, all the poor people live like sardines in the very last train car. They are caged in like animals, sleeping on bunk beds, eating a disgusting gelatin protein block. Except one man has been waiting for the right time to start a revolution. And the basic premise of this movie is very simple - move from the back of the train to the front and take the engine.

The star of Snowpiercer is none other than Captain America himself, Chris Evans. And while I've never been a fan of his work in the past, I have to really praise him for his work here. He is absolutely astounding in this role, especially a third act monologue which is heartbreaking and shocking. He plays Curtis, a man who spent 17 years on Earth and 17 years on the train. He is joined on his mission by a rag tag group of passengers including the train kid that looks up to him (Jamie Bell), tough mom Tonya (Octavia Spencer), the conductor's one time partner (John Hurt), the man that invented the locks for the doors who they must break out of prison first (Kang-ho Song), and more. After breaking Namgoong out of prison, they make their way car by car through the train running into characters like Tilda Swinton's bureaucrat and Allison Pill's teacher. The cars themselves are a production designers dream come true - an aquarium car, a greenhouse car, etc. The entirety of the film takes place on a train, so it seems like it might be constricting for a director - filming in this linear, and limited space. But Korean director Joon-ho Bong is more than up for the challenge. He directs the hell out of this movie, making room for extreme action set pieces and also intimate character moments.

This is not just an action movie (although the action scenes are intense and exciting, specifically the torch/tunnel fight scene which is riveting), it's more a movie about humanity and about what people are capable of when society is stripped down to its most basic wants and needs. This is the sort of smart movie that will stay with you for days and months. It's not only destined to become a cult classic, but also probably a sci-fi genre masterpiece. Sure, some of the film borderlines on ridiculous (I still can't decide how I feel about Tilda Swinton's performance which is, to me, the most divisive part of the film), but this is it's own movie - pure cinematic joy, a unique vision, and one entertaining film.

Grade: A