Entertainment

Snakes on a Plane

D

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Marguiles, Nathan Phillips, Bobby Canavale and Kenan Thompson. Directed by David R. Ellis. R (nudity, language, snake-related violence). 106 mins. $28.98.

WHAT WERE YOU EXPECTING? Overhyped, overamped, overanalyzed, SoaP was the movie that Internet buzz built with Web sites and satirical shorts inspired by the title, the premise and the promise of Samuel L. Jackson uttering the movie's anthemic line – "I've had it with all these [expletive] snakes on this [expletive] plane."

HISSTERICAL? YES: A fun game to play would be to have everyone compile a list of possible action-movie/snake-attack scenes and then check them off as they appear – snakes dropping from oxygen-mask compartment, check; snake latching onto woman's breast, check; and so on.

FUN? NOT SO MUCH: Obviously intended to become an instant camp classic, the combination of laziness and cynicism drains most of what should have been goofy charm. The snakes just look so fake and the dialogue is so tediously clunky. An episode of Love Boat has more interesting characters and interaction.

BEST EXTRA: The blooper reel makes for instructive viewing. Amid all the strained laughter and bad jokes, it's clear how hard everyone was trying to act as if they were having a good time. But like everything else in the movie, it's completely unconvincing.

BOTTOM LINE: If you must see SoaP, a DVD is the way to do it. There are a half-dozen scenes in the movie worth flipping through. To save time, go directly to scene 15, "Enough Is Enough," to see and hear Mr. Jackson make his declaration.

Tom Maurstad