Snowpiercer
In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer; a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine.
What critics thought
Bong Joon-ho's dystopian train ride earned sweeping critical enthusiasm, with reviewers singling out its relentless forward momentum, inventive production design, and Tilda Swinton's performance as particular highlights. The minority dissent centered on whether the film's political allegory was as deep as it seemed, with some critics finding the script thin and the action sequences repetitively fetishized beneath the stylish surface.
“Snowpiercer sucks you into its strange, brave new world so completely, it leaves you with the all-too-rare sensation that you've just witnessed something you've never seen before ... and need to see again.”
Chris Nashawaty·Entertainment Weekly
“Violent, often absurd, but full of brilliant surprises, while Bong keeps the center of the action moving toward the front of the train, a considerable feat of camera placement, choreographed mayhem, and cohesive editing”
David Denby·The New Yorker
“Sprung from a 1982 French graphic novel and bearing its era's trickle-down tensions, Snowpiercer is a headlong rush into conceptual lunacy—but you'll love it anyway.”
Joshua Rothkopf·Time Out New York
“We leave Snowpiercer more exhausted with questions than invigorated by its unique vision and style. It is a formidable example of directorial control bogged down by poor writing, half-finished effects work and a rather thin exploration of a fascinating dystopian universe.”
Jordan Adler·We've Got This Covered
“tiresome, slow-motion fetishism, mixing costumes and weaponry in an effort to distract from the scenes' sheer repetitiveness.”
Ann Hornaday·The Washington Post
Genres
Action, Science Fiction, Drama
Cast & Crew
Bong Joon HoDirector
Chris EvansCurtis
Song Kang-hoNamgoong Minsu
Ed HarrisWilford
John HurtGilliam
Tilda SwintonMason
Jamie BellEdgar
Octavia SpencerTanya
Ewen BremnerAndrew
Ko AsungYona
Alison PillTeacher
Luke PasqualinoGrey
Vlad IvanovFranco The Elder
Marco BeltramiComposer
Kelly MastersonWriter
Hong Kyung-pyoCinematographySnowpiercer
In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer; a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine.
What critics thought
Bong Joon-ho's dystopian train ride earned sweeping critical enthusiasm, with reviewers singling out its relentless forward momentum, inventive production design, and Tilda Swinton's performance as particular highlights. The minority dissent centered on whether the film's political allegory was as deep as it seemed, with some critics finding the script thin and the action sequences repetitively fetishized beneath the stylish surface.
“Snowpiercer sucks you into its strange, brave new world so completely, it leaves you with the all-too-rare sensation that you've just witnessed something you've never seen before ... and need to see again.”
Chris Nashawaty·Entertainment Weekly
“Violent, often absurd, but full of brilliant surprises, while Bong keeps the center of the action moving toward the front of the train, a considerable feat of camera placement, choreographed mayhem, and cohesive editing”
David Denby·The New Yorker
“Sprung from a 1982 French graphic novel and bearing its era's trickle-down tensions, Snowpiercer is a headlong rush into conceptual lunacy—but you'll love it anyway.”
Joshua Rothkopf·Time Out New York
“We leave Snowpiercer more exhausted with questions than invigorated by its unique vision and style. It is a formidable example of directorial control bogged down by poor writing, half-finished effects work and a rather thin exploration of a fascinating dystopian universe.”
Jordan Adler·We've Got This Covered
“tiresome, slow-motion fetishism, mixing costumes and weaponry in an effort to distract from the scenes' sheer repetitiveness.”
Ann Hornaday·The Washington Post
Genres
Action, Science Fiction, Drama
Cast & Crew
Bong Joon HoDirectorChris EvansCurtisSong Kang-hoNamgoong MinsuEd HarrisWilfordJohn HurtGilliamTilda SwintonMasonJamie BellEdgarOctavia SpencerTanyaEwen BremnerAndrewKo AsungYonaAlison PillTeacherLuke PasqualinoGreyVlad IvanovFranco The ElderMarco BeltramiComposerKelly MastersonWriterHong Kyung-pyoCinematography