Snakes on a Plane

A hardboiled FBI agent (Samuel L. Jackson) finds his toughness put to the test when the plane on which he’s escorting an important witness is overrun by hundreds of snakes, placed there by an indicted crime lord to prevent the witness from testifying. It takes a willful suspension of disbelief to swallow the ridiculous premise of John Heffernan, Sebastian Gutierrez and David Dalessandro’s script, but once you’ve made the effort, it’s a pretty entertaining ride. Director David R. Ellis keeps the action fast and frantic, with all the expected set-ups and payoffs. Jackson barks his lines with relish, and Julianna Margulies, as the beleaguered head flight attendant, even delivers that hoary old line “Does anybody here know how to fly a plane?” with surprising aplomb.