Bird Box (2018)

Title: Bird Box

Year: 2018

Genre: Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi |

Runtime: 124 min

Director:  Susanne Bier

Starring:    Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich

6,7/10

Five years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a mother and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety.

STRONG PERFORMANCE DOESN’T SAVE WEAK AND PREDICTABLE PLOT

Variations is known to be an important and an efficient artefact, which is probably why Netflix tries so hard to bring on so many variations of genres and content fulfilling all of their demographics. They keep provide for some interest and some content that are not that fulfilling regarding its execution. The latest Netflix-film starring Sandra Bullock is in the later category. It got some real buzz and internet swirled around its ecstatic style and narrative. By now, Bullock is a house-hold name and she intervene in some regard one of the best actress active. She’s good and has been bad. As expected, she usually performs best in her dramatic roles, which includes Gravity (2013) and The Blind Side (2009) which was one of those she got some real critical acclaim for her performance. She did even win both a Golden Globes and an Academy Award for The Blind Side.

   The movie tells the story of a woman and a man leading two children to a safe zone across a dystopic American land. Parallel, it tells the story as well about how the society globally crashes and everyone kills themselves. By short, it’s a survivor tale which narrative two side of a timeline; the one before and the one after. It breathes and feel slightly like a Hollywood production with Bullock as the executive producer. If it wasn’t because A Quiet Place (2018) premiered the same year and we’ve seen this type of story already, it would’ve been more praised in terms of its story and production value. This time it’s the sight that is compromised and not the hearing. A Quiet Place was reportedly way more successful because of the intimate and efficient storytelling that John Krasinski prove as an actor, writer and director. This spoof on to be a successful film which led to a sequel is currently in development.

Bullock has some strong moments in this movie but overall, she is weak and pale as the story progresses. Her relationship with the children that she has on her journey is the strongest core of the movie and some of the crucial part of the film. She has a committing relationship to the young children but doesn’t give performance good and believable as Emily Blunt and John Krasinski did. Their relationship to each other and as a family was one of the best parts of the whole movie.

This movie lacks depth and tries some new way to tell a boring story with dangerous creatures that remains unknown to the end credits. It leave more question than answers. It relies on the perception of the audience that make an underwhelming approach to the drama and horror genre. The director seems to not know how to affect direct this film in the better way. Nonetheless, director Susanne Bier tries hard in this piece to make the audience confused. The character are confused as well. She works her ass off to make the audience feel obligated and unsettled to the end scene with a mediocre and predictable storyline that doesn’t embrace Bullocks potential for the character to the fullest. It tries to make the story deep and meaningful but tremendously fails regardless. Overall, this book adaption with the same name tries something new with this female protagonist that feels incomplete and hollow. There is some thrilling moments, but the underwhelming narrative shatters its high potentials and buzzed hype to the maximum.