It's not a mainstream critic, and it's a genre website devoted to horror films, but...
They love it.
http://www.dreadcentral.com/index.php?name=Reviews&req=showcontent&id=1024At the recent San Diego Comic Con, I was surprised when director David R. Ellis unflinchingly referred to Snakes as a horror movie. I was told that a lot of the fright in this film doesn’t come from the inevitable snake strikes but rather the after-effects of some of the deadliest poisons on the planet. I’m happy to report that Mr. Ellis delivered on both counts! Now it is damn near impossible to watch the snakes go to work without thinking of Anaconda or Boa Vs. Python, but I think that is where the film becomes genius. I mean, did you ever think you’d sit in an actual theater to watch a movie like this? In my opinion, Ellis and company have pulled off the greatest coup of 2006. Not since Edward Scissorhands has someone taken such a ridiculous sounding premise and made a thoroughly enjoyable feature from it.
<snip>
Sure, Snakes on a Plane is about as subtle as opening the door to your house with a 50-lb. sledgehammer, but it never pretended to be. You have to respect that sort of honesty. This could have been the mysterious Pacific Air Flight 121. There is no mistaking a film called Snakes on a Plane. This is the swift kick in the ass this summer movie season has sorely needed.