Plot: Set more than seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland, Snowpiercer centers on the remnants of humanity who inhabit a perpetually moving train, with 1001 cars, that circles the globe. Class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival play out in this riveting television adaptation based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel series and the film from Oscar winner Bong Joon Ho
Review: 2013's SNOWPIERCER was Bong Joon Ho's English language debut and after a kerfuffle with The Weinstein Company trying to edit the film by 20 minutes and altering the opening and closing of the film. Bong Joon Ho refused and the unedited film went on to become one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year. Since then, the original French comic book has been developed as a TV series which has been stuck in it's own development hell which saw the departure of Scott Derrickson and series showrunner/writer Josh Friedman. With the pilot entirely reshot, the drama is finally seeing release on TNT. The result is a series that still manages to tell a complex story about class and society but with nowhere near the nuance of the 2013 feature film. In fact, SNOWPIERCER has now become a fairly standard basic cable science fiction series.
If you have never seen the film version of SNOWPIERCER, you may be intrigued by the premise of the new television version. While Bong Joon-ho's film deviated from the source material, it delivered a a poignant look at class warfare on a post-apocalyptic train. This series shares some elements in common with the graphic novel, but is much different than the movie. Where in the movie Chris Evans played the leader of a rebellion uprising pushing from the tail to the front of the titular train, this series is content to spend each episode going back and forth through the one thousand and one train cars. Yes, there is still an uprising and yes we see the distinct war brewing between the caste system on the train, but all of that is wrapped up in the old tried and true formula of a television murder mystery.
Already renewed for a second season, SNOWPIERCER is going to be a show that lasts for a minimum of twenty episodes. Having seen the first half, I can confidently say that had this series made it to air with less of a financial commitment to it's production, it likely would not have lasted more than a single year. It isn't that SNOWPIERCER is bad but rather how generic it all is. The dialogue is wooden and none of the actors are able to convey a modicum of the quirks or distinctiveness the film's cast including Tilda Swinton and Ed Harris were able to bring to screen. As much as I enjoy seeing Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly star in this show, it never builds enough momentum to make investing in this story worthwhile. Each episode opens with a narration by a different character explaining their place in the power chain on the train but the story reverts back to the murder investigation.
There are several scenes that are lifted directly from the original SNOWPIERCER comic book, but this series tells a story that is set seven years after the extinction event that froze the planet which puts it eight years before the events in the feature flm. Without getting into any spoilers, this version of the story distinguishes itself completely from the movie by changing some reveals in the film and diving deeper into how each class of passengers live day to day. It is entirely possible that this story could eventually lead into the movie but I doubt it. That may be the biggest missed opportunity but leaves this version of SNOWPIERCER with a lot more bandwidth to tell this story.
With the acton primarily set on the interior of the train, there are not many special effects needed to realize this world. But the ones we do see including avalanches and the train traversing a global wasteland are well executed. There is also no shortage of violence and mild nudity as sex and bloodshed are just as integral to this version of SNOWPIERCER as they were in the movie. The cast is very much an ensemble and on top of Diggs and Connelly, the performances from Allison Wright (The Americans), Sheila Vand (ARGO), Susan Park (Vice Principals), Mike O'Malley (Glee) and more are good in what they are given but are never given quite enough.
SNOWPIERCER is a decent enough watch and improves a bit as the season progresses but if it wasn't for a lack of shows due to coronavirus shutdowns, this would be a series that many could pass on and not be missing much. The limitations of the series are apparent as it never quite takes advantage of the intensity that the feature film employed, but rather slows things down a lot and spends far too much time revisiting the same plot contrivances as a standard police procedural. The fact that we waited so long for this show and it's not more impressive is an indictment all it's own and makes me want to see what Scott Derrickson's original pilot looked like. SNOWPIERCER is a harmless summer television series and one that pales in the shadow of the acclaimed feature film that preceded it.
Snowpiercer premieres Sunday, May 17th on TNT.