Chris Evans and Jamie Bell are trying to get to the front of a train that never stops in the futuristic and grim Snowpiercer. Review after the jump.
We are in the future. The world leaders have tried an experiment to solve the problem with global warming, but they have accidently made things worse – freezing the whole planet and killing billions of people. Only a few hundred have survived and they are all aboard a very long train that doesn’t stop. In fact, it had been travelling the length of the planet for the past seventeen years.
One of the passengers is Chris Evans (known to everyone as Captain America). He lives on the last carriage along with many more, all of which are starving hungry and dirty. They are treated like cattle, as elsewhere on the train the people are living it up like royalty.
Evans, along with Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer and John Hurt, come up with a plan to get past the guards and travel to the front of the train, but it isn’t as easy as it seems. 
When Snowpiercer started, I presumed it would be like a young adult film in the mold of The Hunger Games or Divergent, but I was surprised; surprised because this film in parts is vicious. Snowpiercer is closer to Oldboy than Katniss Everdeen.
Directed by Bong Joon-Ho in his first English-language film, Snowpiercer is visceral, brutal and often times brilliant. Evans is excellent as the lead, but he is supported by some fantastic actors who are all on top form (check out Tilda Swinton and her Manchester accent).
There are some plot holes in the film and the logistics of the actual train and carriages don’t really make sense, but we will forgive due to the film being so good.
Snowpiercer was a great watch and deserves a bigger audience. With the film finally set to be released in the US later in the summer, let’s hope it goes on to become a huge success and a cult classic.
Overall Thoughts:
Dark and often brutal at times, Snowpiercer is an instant classic. Chris Evans has now shown himself to be a bona fide star, and the mix of American and English actors with a Korean director works beautifully.
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