Snowpiercer

People are weird. Sometime really ridiculous TV series and movies gets very good reviews and sometime decent series gets bad. This TV series is the example of later. It's not an Emmy winning series but nevertheless quite interesting to watch. The actors are doing good job and the plot has some life to it. I am not sure, how come some science fiction movies and TV series, like Star Wars, gets high ratings, despite being quite away from reality but some get judged based on scientific laws.

Whoever made the decision to film season 4 with an abundance of close-ups, hand held cameras, and what looks like cell phones in the season 4 opener, really should be forced to sit on an anthill. That's what watching this show is like. The jump cuts, shaky camera work, jeez, what are they thinking. Let me guess, some "creative thinker" thought, lets give the show a claustrophobic feel with tight shots. This is what happens when someone surrounds themselves with sycophants who tell them they're geniuses. Or it's the fall back on the back of for a show that is not very interesting and is reaching for something it has lost and can't get back. It's the cinematic equivalent of jumping the shark. It reeks of desperation. This shows camera work is physically painful to watch..

It's not bad. I gave a 7 with the potential for higher numbers as this progresses. Not sure why others gave such harsh reviews and low numbers. Geeesh give a new show a chance! I never saw the movie, so I have no comparison to offer. For a first episode I'm intrigued enough to want to see more. Isn't that what most want from a pilot episode? Plenty of characters and potential for expanding storylines. The hour went by very quickly and previewed the upcoming season at the end of the episode. If you liked the Hunger Games this seems to be a similar vibe, although more gritty.

First of all lets make one think clear, this is a show in a sci-fi setting and Sci-fi has always been experimenting with cheesy and illogical concepts. I don't know why people forgot that. Of cource the idea of a endlessly running train isn't realistic nor would the class system of the train work in real life, but thats not the point of the show. You wouldn't say that fighting with laser swords or travelling through time in a car is very realistic, but it is definitely fun to watch. That is why (at least for me) Snowpiercer works. Is it a show that would win awards for groundbraking acting or writing? No, probably not. But the story is definitely thrilling, the set pieces are fascinating and I am extremely invested in the show.

I find my opinion similar to most of the reviews out there. The first two seasons were definitely better than the third. Honestly, I don't enjoy the way they focus on three characters in one episode and then switch to another three in the next. Sometimes, you don't see a main character for weeks. I think this format is one reason why season 3 feels so slow and boring.

Most of the characters lack depth, which I attribute to the writing rather than the acting. Melanie is the only character I find worth watching, and Jennifer Connelly delivers a great performance, as always. I aslo think season 3 suffered a lot because she was hardly present.

I've just started season 4, which we've waited ages for, and it looks like they're sticking with the same format, showing different sides of the story in each episode instead of giving us the full picture. It's too early to tell if there will be any improvement in the character dynamics. I hope they don't continue the pattern of alternating episodes between different settings, one outside the train, the next on the train, and so on. This would be very dull. I also hope they bring everyone together again to face the main conflict, or whatever they have planned for this season. And of course, I'm hoping for more Melanie too. Let's see if things improve.

Update after 3 episodes: layton's character is as annoying as ever.. no improvement there.