As I’ve already mentioned in this blog, South Korean directors have an exceptional record with me. Given this, and that it’s by Bong Joon-ho who directed one of the best monster movies of modern times, that it’s science-fiction, and that it’s based on an unusual French graphic novel, there’s no way that I would be missing this.

It helps that the premise is novel and intriguing. In the wake of a misguided attempt to rein in global warming, the entire world is plunged into a deadly ice age. The remnants of humanity survive only on a train that ceaselessly circumnavigates the world and has done so for the past 18 years. Within this closed ecosystem, society has stratified into a group of the poor who inhabit the tail section of the train and the elite who control the front of the train.

It’s a cool bit of worldbuilding with great aesthetics and camera work that doesn’t seem that impressive until you realize how confined the space is. The whole film has a distinct BioShock vibe for me, right down to the mysterious entrepreneur who built the train and the propaganda videos used to establish the social order. It works very well as a comic book movie that refreshingly doesn’t use superheroes.

Unfortunately, while it is entertaining to watch and there are some interesting layers of meaning in what is otherwise a rather naked allegory, the basic implausibility of the setup makes it necessary to make an annoyingly deliberate effort to suspend disbelief. Villains go out of their way to appear evil, the system doesn’t appear to be sustainable in the least, and there are glaring inconsistencies in tone. For example, having insects as the basis of your food supply shouldn’t really be that disgusting when you’ve had to resort to human flesh.

I’d say the acting is a wash all around. Tilda Swinton steals every scene she is in with her Margaret Thatcher caricature and is clearly having fun. Song Kang-ho’s face is as expressive as ever, but his role is relatively unimportant. Chris Evans does an okay job in a role that is boringly close to the usual Hollywood heroic archetype but completely lacks the gravitas to pull off the final speech, which ends up being awkward and unconvincing.

The whole ending sequence is in fact pretty lacklustre, bringing to mind unpleasant memories of the two Matrix sequels. The twist isn’t really much of a surprise given how common this conspiracy trope is. I was also disappointed by how conventional the final scene is. As one poster wrote in Broken Forum, it would have been more interesting if the whole thing were used as an Omelas-type metaphor with the implication being that if this is what is needed to keep humanity alive, perhaps it is better for humans to become extinct anyway.

Overall while this is certainly a step above most action movies and it does boast some great visuals, it’s nothing particularly special either. I’d recommend it only to science-fiction fans.