Snakes on a Plane (2006)

Directors:

David R. Ellis
Lex Halaby

Writers (WGA):

John Heffernan (screenplay) and
Sebastian Gutierrez (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 August 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

On August 18th Summer Really Begins

Plot:

An FBI agent takes on a plane full of deadly and poisonous snakes, deliberately released to kill a witness being flown from Honolulu to Los Angeles to testify against a mob boss.

Plot Keywords:

Snake | Murder | Passenger | FBI Agent | FBI

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Samuel L. Jackson	...	Neville Flynn
Julianna Margulies	...	Claire Miller
Nathan Phillips	...	Sean Jones
Rachel Blanchard	...	Mercedes
Flex Alexander	...	Three G's
Kenan Thompson	...	Troy
Keith Dallas	...	Big Leroy (as Keith [Blackman] Dallas)
Lin Shaye	...	Grace
Bruce James	...	Ken
Sunny Mabrey	...	Tiffany
Casey Dubois	...	Curtis
Daniel Hogarth	...	Tommy
Gerard Plunkett	...	Paul
Terry Chen	...	Chen Leong
Elsa Pataky	...	Maria

Also Known As:

Anaconda 3 (USA) (fake working title)
Flight 121 (USA) (working title)
Pacific Air 121 (USA) (working title)
Pacific Air Flight 121 (USA) (working title)
Serpents à bord (Canada: French title)
SoaP (USA) (promotional abbreviation)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, a scene of sexuality and drug use, and intense sequences of terror and violence.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Germany | USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Singapore:M18 | Ireland:15A | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:16 | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | Hong Kong:IIB | USA:R (certificate #42661) | Malaysia:18SG | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | Finland:K-15 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:16 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Argentina:16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:U (cut) | Italy:VM14 | Romania:I.C.-14 | Portugal:M/16 | Brazil:16 | New Zealand:M | South Korea:18 | Japan:PG-12

Filming Locations:

Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

A live diamondback rattlesnake was found in a Phoenix, Arizona AMC theater during an August 2006 screening. Another rattler was found nearby in the parking lot.

Goofs:

Continuity: The plane appears with a hole in the upper deck where the windows have blown out. In the following scene the windows are still there and then blow out.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Daniel Hayes: [to Sean] Go, get outta here. Go!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The DiCaprio Code (2006)

Soundtrack:

Backfire

You can't manufacture cult films

$25,000 Pyramid Clues: Deep Blue Sea. Tremors. Slither. Eight Legged Freaks.

Pyramid Category: Movies that were funnier and more thrilling than Snakes on a Plane.

Hell, with that definition I'd have to include the relatively harrowing journey of Ted and Elaine in Airplane! as superior to Snakes in both laughs and thrills.

The sad truth is that this isn't even close to the mother of all unintentionally intentional funny snake movies: Anaconda! Besides the never to be seen again casting of JLo-Cube-O.Wilson-Stoltz-Wuhrer in the same flick, you had Jon Voight pulling off the all-time cinematic heist. His final scene alone represents everything SOAP tried and failed to do as a "so-ludicrous-it's-fun" movie.

In the end, Snakes on a Plane is definitive proof that studio execs and fanboys make the worst collaborators possible. Every big scene had been discussed and dissected so much the last year, all that was left to amuse by opening night was the amount of fanboy flop-sweat that had to be mopped up at my theater. I heard more forced laughs here than at a studio taping for "According to Jim".