Friday, January 18, 2019

"Bird Box"

 ½ 

Invariably, you will be seeing Bird Box on your TV or computer or handheld mobile device, but the film was made for a theatrical release, and it had a very brief one, which justifies a review (not necessarily a good review, though).

Netflix's approach is to directly compare Bird Box against other big-screen entertainment, and on that level it's a failure.  Bird Box is a moderately entertaining way to spend a couple of hours in the living room. Word of advice: view Bird Box with substantially lowered expectations.

It starts with a good premise: Unseen creatures attack Earth with shocking speed. Anyone who even sees a creature immediately goes crazy and commits suicide. But in this premise, the film's swiss cheese of plot holes begin opening up.

Sandra Bullock's character literally stumbles into a boarded-up home in which a bunch of disaster-movie tropes -- including veteran actors John Malkovich, Jacki Weaver and BD Wong -- are tying to keep themselves from even looking outside, because if you see the monster you die by suicide.

As the film moves toward an ever sillier, ever more flat and unsatisfactory finale, it's a dreary sog, especially since its monster seems to be totally invicible. If that's the case, what's the point?

The real horror of Bird Box is discovering that 80 million people have (allegedly) watched this and turned it into a social/viral hit. Please tell me, movie fans, that you have more time on your hands than that?



Viewed 1/17/19 - Netflix


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