# Can "Snowpiercer" possibly not be as stupid as it sounds? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825 "2014-06-27T23:40:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/61 "2014-07-08T15:58:46Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Skywatcher, there are six theaters within twenty miles of you showing _Snowpiercer_. I don’t know why the theater in Shirlington is only showing it for two days (if that is indeed true), but I don’t think that’s true for any other theater showing it. It certainly wasn’t true in the AFI Silver where I saw it. All I know is that, last week when I looked on Fandango for showtimes, it only returned 7/2 and 7/3 at AFI Silver. Looked again yesterday and it gave 7/7 and 7/8 at AMC Shirlington along with a few others. We prefer to see movies on the weekend, don’t drive, and she’d rather stay out of DC & Maryland. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/62 "2014-07-08T16:58:26Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > When I read things like this and other comments in the thread, I automatically think of Sheldon on _The Big Bang Theory_ talking about how ridiculous it would be for Superman to catch a falling Lois Lane because the force would kill her. > > Get over it, people. It’s just a movie, and a good one. Any movie that you don’t like or even are determined not to like can be made to sound ridiculous if you try hard enough. Yes but all you have to do to make this movie sound ridiculous is explain the basic plot premise. That’s a red flag in my book. Is this the same Straight Dope that beat Prometheus over the head with logic sticks until it cried? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/63 "2014-07-08T17:04:09Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Yes but all you have to do to make this movie sound ridiculous is explain the basic plot premise. That’s a red flag in my book. Not in mine. Some of the best movies I’ve seen have had a somewhat dopey-sounding premise. But for whatever reason, they worked. Of course, some with dopey-sounding premises have sucked. You just can’t tell by that. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/64 "2014-07-08T17:07:56Z")
[Link for the Prometheus beating.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=667934&highlight=Prometheus) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/65 "2014-07-08T17:09:34Z")
The wife and I really liked _Prometheus_. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/66 "2014-07-08T17:12:47Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The wife and I really liked _Prometheus_. As did the wife and I. But in the end, I had to admit it had some really stupid stuff in it that really detracted from it as a film. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/67 "2014-07-08T17:30:01Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Worst movie that I’ve seen a while. > > The premise is fine. Every film gets a freebie or two. I can accept complete nonsense–just don’t try to explain things! > > Unfortunately, the film does. Where do the protein bars come from? Well, we find out that it comes from ground-up bugs (and somehow this is presented as a big deal even though everyone’s been living in absolute filth the whole time). Now we wonder where the bugs came from. The explanation made it worse. I agree that that was stupid. Insects are just meat. My assumption was that the writer/director has a personal hangup about the idea of eating insects, and didn’t realize that it wasn’t shared as wholly by the rest of the world. It’s like when I was watching The Killing (the original Danish version) and the main detective asks an underling for folders on “every woman in her 20s who has gone missing in Copenhagen for the last 10 years”, the underling goes off and the next episode comes back with like 5 folders. I could take from that, that Copenhagen is the safest and most popular major city in the world, or that the writers have a blissfully illusionary image of crime statistics which they didn’t bother to correct before writing the script. > [@](#): > > Likewise the meat locker that the rich people use. If they had not shown it at all, I would just accept that the rich get their steaks from some unknown place. But since they showed the meat locker, I have to wonder where that stuff comes from, since it obviously isn’t going to last decades–or even a few weeks. There’s no cow or chicken farm on the train. I don’t remember the meat locker, but I’m pretty sure they demonstrated or talked about vat-grown meats. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/68 "2014-07-08T17:47:35Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I don’t remember the meat locker, but I’m pretty sure they demonstrated or talked about vat-grown meats. As **Dr. Strangelove** notes, the meat locker scene is immediately after the aquarium speech. I laughed at this sequence because it was if the filmmaker was deliberately shoving it in our face that this is an absurdly contrived and unrealistic situation. Also note that they have to walk _through_ the meat locker to get from the sleeping cars to the other living sections of the train. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/69 "2014-07-08T17:56:10Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > As did the wife and I. But in the end, I had to admit it had some really stupid stuff in it that really detracted from it as a film. Prometheus wasn’t allegorical. It was a shitty sci-fi movie written by an inept writer with a ton of money and a good director behind it. It was a tragedy because inept writing is what fucked it. If this film isn’t ineptly written it isn’t fair to assume it’s the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/70 "2014-07-08T20:07:23Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Prometheus wasn’t allegorical. It was a shitty sci-fi movie written by an inept writer with a ton of money and a good director behind it. It was a tragedy because inept writing is what fucked it. I think the big difference is that one has a premise that might be, to some, a hard sell. But at least everyone in the story itself more or less acts like a normal human being in their situation would. Most problems with _Prometheus_ were less with some of the far-fetched elements of the film (which some might call fanciful and others non-sensical) but with the fact that so many people in that movie, who are supposed to be really smart, do really really stupid things. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/71 "2014-07-08T20:08:30Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > As **Dr. Strangelove** notes, the meat locker scene is immediately after the aquarium speech. I laughed at this sequence because it was if the filmmaker was deliberately shoving it in our face that this is an absurdly contrived and unrealistic situation. Also note that they have to walk _through_ the meat locker to get from the sleeping cars to the other living sections of the train. And that also goes for the sauna car separating some important cars from each other. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/72 "2014-07-08T20:36:53Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > I really wish they would not compare this movie to _Brazil_. It seems like every review has a reference to that movie–I swear that must be part of the press packet. Yes, there is a character named Gilliam; and, yes, at one point they put a shoe on Swinton’s head and call it a hat; and, yes, initially there are handful of ducts in the background. That is it. I can see that Bong found some inspiration in the Gilliam movie, but the two could not be more different in both design and tone. This is a dark and often violent film that owes more to Chan-wook Park than Terry Gilliam. From the tone and the design, it is like \*Oldboy \*crossed with _The Cabin in the Woods_, maybe with a touch of _Resident Evil_. It is a blend of brooding grittiness and violence splashed with bits of humor. I’m glad you mentioned _Oldboy_ and _CitW_ because those two movies most came to my mind. The former is evoked because of the relentless, almost obsessive momentum that exists in the story, always pushing forward deeper and deeper into a situation that is more terrible the more you learn. And while there is situational, gallows humor, it isn’t with the dry wit of Gilliam, but something more surreal. The latter film is appropriate because, like the Goddard/Whedon film, it ultimately is less about the specifics of the individual’s story and more a requiem on humanity itself, and whether civilization is truly worth sustaining if it requires selling your soul. I liked the film a lot, absurdities, notwithstanding. I liked the balance of scifi, apocalyptic dystopia, horror, and raw action. It manages to be both a cynical film and a very generous one, and while there are some very familiar genre tropes, there’s a lot of visual invention, too. So maybe not completely original, but a far more satisfying experience than any of its bigger budgeted counterparts this year. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/73 "2014-07-08T20:44:24Z")
> [@DeweyDecibel](#): > > The premise makes about as much sense as radioactive spiders giving Peter Parker the power to shoot webs and scale buildings. That is, it’s a ridiculous premise, but serves as a hanger for a story. If you can’t swallow crazy premises in superheroes or fantasy, then this would rankle. But most people can suspend disbelief in these cases. Snowpiercer deserves the same allowances. It sounds like an uncanny-valley problem. Superheroes and talking animals are different enough from our own world that an audience just rolls with it. A train roaring through snow is too close to real life, though; it lets the audience nitpick the distinctions rather than absorb the overall vision. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/74 "2014-07-08T21:12:34Z")
Whoh! that ending was _ **extremely dark** _ ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/75 "2014-07-08T21:18:58Z")
Anyone know when they are planning to release this movie in Canada? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/76 "2014-07-09T01:58:32Z")
Skywatcher, I think you misunderstand the website on which you’re looking up the showtimes for movies. I think they only give the times for the day you look it up and the day afterwards. That doesn’t mean that they are only showing it for two days. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/77 "2014-07-09T02:09:30Z")
Let’s see, Canada . . . Canada . . . That’s where now? Oh, yeah, it’s that place where you release films after they’ve already been released in all these countries: South Korea France Hong Kong Thailand Taiwan Vietnam Estonia Switzerland Philippines Germany Japan Italy Belgium Romania China Israel Lithuania Mongolia Netherlands Germany Denmark Poland Finland Brazil United Arab Emirates Greece Kuwait Austria Croatia Spain Pakistan USA Australia UK Czech Republic Finland ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/78 "2014-07-09T02:18:18Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Anyone know when they are planning to release this movie in Canada? A train leaves New York City at noon heading west at 100 mph… ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/79 "2014-07-19T20:06:39Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > That’s why I’m not thinking of this is science-fiction. I’m thinking of it is a really fun movie with lots of action, which is why I’m excited to see it. I’m about 2/3 through it right now, and it’s shite. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825/80 "2014-07-19T21:02:04Z")
The premise is ridiculous, but, you know, it’s an allegory. I didn’t throw _Animal Farm_ against a wall after reading it because the animals could talk. I have to say, though, even getting past the obviously silly premise, I could only give it a “pretty good” rating. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-snowpiercer-possibly-not-be-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/691825.md?page=5)