Snowpiercer

Director: Bong Joon-ho Starring: Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Jamie Bell, Song Kang-ho ⋆⋆⋆

Best-known for his politically charged monster movie The Host, the Korean director Bong Joon-ho makes his English-language debut with this uneven but commendably ambitious US$40 million (Dh147m) adaptation of a cult French sci-fi comic book. The film’s release in the United States was controversially delayed while the Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein tried to impose a much shorter version, angering Joon-ho and his starry international cast.

In the near future, after Earth suffers an apocalyptic deep freeze, only a few thousand people survive aboard a miles-long supertrain that perpetually circles the ice-covered globe. But a rigidly enforced class system prevails on board, with front passengers living in luxury while rear carriages are prison-like slums crowded with dirty, sick, semi-starving masses.

In fairness, Weinstein was right to worry about the film's pacing, especially the slow and claustrophobic first half. Characters are cartoonish and visual effects sometimes weak, with disappointingly few exterior shots of the train itself. But once the action heats up, Bong delivers a rich feast of political allegory and bloodthirsty carnage. Snowpiecer is no masterpiece, but an agreeably unorthodox, impressively arty blockbuster.

* Stephen Dalton