Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer is a rather odd picture. But that’s definitely a good thing. This summer has so far provided another glut of sequels, reboots, and generally a lot more of the same. So a new idea from outside the Hollywood box—not just figuratively but literally, as despite the English spoken and Western stars, the film is from South Korea—is a welcome change. Come to think of it, maybe it’s just a very good and original idea, and it only seems weird because we’re so used to Hollywood recycling old things that any new idea seems strange.

That idea: in the near future, an attempt to combat climate change leads to the world being engulfed in an ice age. The last surviving humans live on a train that circles the world and never stops. Passengers’ social class is determined by their proximity to the engine (the cars closer to the front of the train are the upper class, while the tail is occupied by the poor). After years of living in squalor with little food or necessities, a charismatic young rebel (Chris Evans) leads the tail-dwellers in a revolt to take over the rest of the train, car by car.

Basically, the film boils down every post-apocalyptic archetype to a small, contained scale, and does so very inventively. Tons of little elements sprinkled throughout suggest how the people live and how society functions under such a scenario. A rich, well-thought-out little world is suggested both upfront and in the background or fleeting dialogue. Admittedly, not all of it is plausible, and although the plot attempts to explain how the train came to be, neither is the overall concept. But the movie knows that. Whenever it seems to be getting too serious, it unexpectedly detours into some stark, surprising black comedy. For all the dark, dystopian stuff and class-conscious allegory that’s as subtle as a sledgehammer, the picture isn’t above poking fun at itself by knowingly taking its concept as far-out as it can.

Every new car the heroes take brings an interesting new surprise, sometimes thrilling, sometimes funny, and sometimes just out-there. The special effects are solid, and though the action is on a (necessarily) much smaller scale, director Bong Joon-ho gives us kinetic martial arts and gunplay that can stand next to any big-budget Hollywood product. South Korean stars Song Kang-ho and Go Ah-sung and familiar Western faces like John Hurt, Octavia Spencer, Tilda Swinton, and Ed Harris all fill their roles well, but the one who makes the picture is Evans above all. He’s already proven he can play goofier comic leads (Fantastic Four) and pure righteous heroes (Captain America). Here, he plays a darker, more tortured and intense hero. And yet, through all these roles he still seems like a relatable everyman. I’ve yet to see him in a role outside the action movie spectrum, but within it, he’s certainly got range.

The ending, without spoiling anything, doesn’t quit bring things to a full conclusion, but then neither do all the summer blockbusters with the intent to spawn more sequels. The difference is that up until then, Snowpiercer is creative and clever, not derivative and lazy. It proves that mindless entertainment doesn’t need to be completely without a brain.