---
title: "Snowpiercer: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/snowpiercer/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/snowpiercer"
critics_score: 77
critics_reviews: 15
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Snowpiercer (2013): what the critics said

Critics' score 77 from 15 reviews: 13 positive, 0 mixed, 2 negative.

Most critics respond warmly to Snowpiercer, praising Bong Joon-ho’s combination of violent science-fiction action and class commentary. The train’s detailed interiors and grimy aesthetic draw repeated praise, as do the inventive fights staged within its confined spaces. The performances are another strength for many, with Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton singled out. Admirers find the film’s shifts between brutality, absurd humour and quieter feeling purposeful, and its social concerns give the action weight.

The spread is wide, however, with two negative reviews challenging that enthusiasm. Even favourable notices question the bluntness of the politics and the amount of violence. Time Out finds the storytelling rushed and some characters underdeveloped, while Slant Magazine argues that the treatment of exploitation is too simplistic to sting. The Wrap admires Swinton but finds the lead wooden and the film emotionally thin. The central disagreement is whether its action and political commentary strengthen each other or fail to cohere.

## Los Angeles Times — Betsy Sharkey

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 June 2014. 

Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho combines a great cast, a gripping idea and a gorgeously grimy retro aesthetic to keep this eerie examination of the train wreck of humanity racing along. In “Snowpiercer,” Bong’s first English-language film, nothing gets lost in translation.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-snowpiercer-review-20140627-column.html)

## The AV Club — Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

Rating A-. 26 June 2014. 

The review describes it as a grim, grimy violent sci-fi action flick with a pessimistic political conscience and anarchist leanings that take over in the final act. It builds to an ending that displays integrity rather than conventional satisfaction.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/from-the-director-of-the-host-comes-snowpiercer-a-thri-1798180771)

## The Guardian

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 20 June 2014. Festival review. 

The film works brilliantly as the sum of disparate parts adding up to cinematic excellence. It is wonderfully realised with strong purpose, beautiful design of the carriages and train exteriors, and a strangely moving allegory despite its gruesomeness.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jun/20/snowpiercer-first-look-review-edinburgh-2014)

## Variety — Scott Foundas

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 22 July 2013. 

An enormously ambitious, visually stunning and richly satisfying futuristic epic from the gifted Korean genre director Bong Joon-ho. The film has been brought to the screen with solid narrative craftsmanship, carefully drawn characters and respect for the audience’s intelligence.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/snowpiercer-review-1200565998/)

## Radio Times — Stephen Carty

Rating 4/5. 

This is a thinking person's action film with effective world-building and thrilling, visually dynamic set pieces. Bong's direction is generally masterful with strong performances, especially from Chris Evans.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-7denlx/snowpiercer/)

## Screen Daily

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 July 2013. 

Bong's first English-language film is an enthralling ride that examines social class in an engaging yet complex manner, with strong casting and enjoyable narrative momentum throughout.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/snowpiercer/5058531.article)

## Time Out — EC/ADdW

Rating 4/5. 4 September 2013. 

The ambitious scale and gorgeous visuals reinforce the beautiful absurdity of the scenario, though the film feels rushed and unfocused with the social critique diluted by action scenes and some underdeveloped characters.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/snowpiercer-le-transperceneige)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Clarence Tsui

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 July 2013. 

The critic calls it an epic yet nuanced, contemplative yet entertaining vehicle that uses the train as an allegory for human existence and social injustice. It is a riveting ride that is intellectually and artistically superior to many similar films, though it hammers its points too overtly.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/snowpiercer-film-review-591020/)

## The New Yorker

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 7 July 2014. 

Bong Joon-ho tries to transcend the post-apocalyptic clichés with superlative technique and a wicked sense of humor. If you don’t mind the gore, you can enjoy “Snowpiercer” as a brutal and imaginative piece of science-fiction filmmaking that presents a portrait of oligarchical rule and underclass discontent.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/07/07/endgames)

## The New York Times — A.O. Scott

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 26 June 2014. 

Bong Joon-ho’s “Snowpiercer” proceeds from a fantastical premise rich with real-world relevance. The film stages kinetic fight scenes in narrow spaces and punctuates the noise and speed of the train with moments of eerie, poignant calm.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/27/movies/in-snowpiercer-the-train-trip-to-end-all-train-trips.html)

## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 22 June 2014. 

The critic finds it an angry and bleak old-fashioned genre entry with thematic resonance, but notes it preaches to the choir, positions the exploited as saints without irony, and concludes on an irritatingly reassuring high note that drains potential sting.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/snowpiercer/)

## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff

Rating A. 25 June 2014. 

The critic calls it potentially the best pure science-fiction film since Children of Men, praising its constant momentum, rich and coherent world-building inside the train, and successful blend of inventive action with pointed social and political commentary.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-bong-joon-hos-snowpiercer-starring-chris-evans-tilda-swinton-jamie-bell-john-hurt-more-20140625/)

## Collider — Matt Goldberg

Rating A-. 27 June 2014. 

The critic praises the film's incisive take on class conflict and revolution through its unique train setting and detailed world-building. They single out the strong performances, thrilling action, and thematic depth while noting some minor issues with thematic conclusions.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/snowpiercer-review/)

## Den of Geek — Ryan Lambie

Rating 4/5. 18 April 2014. 

The critic praises Bong Joon-ho's bold and breathtaking adaptation for its mix of brutal darkness, caricaturish humour, and powerful performances, especially from Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton. They single out the film's meditation on class, selfishness, and cruelty, while noting some repetitive violence in the final act slightly weakens it.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/snowpiercer-review-2/)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 25 June 2014. 

The critic finds the film an imaginative but problematic adventure that embraces and rejects blockbuster conventions without its two halves coalescing or penetrating the heart. It singles out Tilda Swinton's watchable performance and the father-daughter relationship for note, while criticizing the wooden lead and lack of emotional depth compared to the director's prior work.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/snowpiercer-review-chris-evans-tilda-swinton-bong-joon-ho/)

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/snowpiercer.md