Snowpiercer

The post-apocalyptic genre has become quite popular in recent years. Perhaps it's because the audience likes seeing the underdog coming out on top (or at least try to). Or maybe it's because the various films, television shows and novels may provide an eerie insight for the not-so-distant future.

Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer is the most recent entry to the genre and it follows a familiar story: the survivors of a cataclysmic event try to overthrow the ruler of their condensed society. But Bong does something many films of the genre tend to ignore; he humanizes the characters.

It's also not a straight-up film of the genre either. Snowpiercer fits more comfortably amongst the action genre and again, it provides a variation of the genre. It's decidedly much more bleak than the usual shoot 'em up and as every frame of Hong Kyung-pyo's cinematography shows, it's both figuratively and literally a very dark film.

As well as Bong's direction and Hong's cinematography, there are many other details of Snowpiercer that catches the viewer's eye. The main aspect is that of the set design. Every small detail within each train car shows a completely different world to both the characters and the audience.

Long story short, Snowpiercer is most definitely a nice change of pace from the CGI-heavy action movies we get bombarded with every summer. Some scenes are a slow simmer but they all lead to a big payoff. Oh, and if you're still not convinced that Chris Evans can act, you clearly need to see Snowpiercer.

My Rating: *****