The end of the world is near and movie-goers are loving it. Movies focused around the apocalypse are gaining almost as much popularity as the rom-com, which means audiences are loving watching different scenarios on how it might all go down.
Netflix’s newly-released “Bird Box” has its own take on the possible destruction of the world, and it takes place in the form of an invisible, mind-altering creature that causes people to attempt to kill themselves after looking directly at it. Sandra Bullock stars as tough-as-nails Malorie, a woman who finds herself heavily pregnant when the world descends into suicidal chaos. The film alternates between this reality and one five years in the future, where Bullock is guiding two young children down a treacherous river. In the past, Malorie finds solace in a house of people that have managed to escape into safety, passing the days attempting to discover what they’re up against and how to survive it.
“Bird Box”, directed by Susanne Bier, has taken the vision of Josh Malerman’s book by the same name to create her own vision of a vision-less world. Bullock is, as expected, a powerhouse to watch as both a fearful mother and a fearless leader. She is extremely convincing in both her terror as well as her convictions as Malorie, and works well against her impeccable co-star Trevante Rhodes. On the other hand, excellent performances from the likes of John Malkovich or Sarah Paulson were wasted on bland character dialogue and exploration. Unlike John Krasinski’s popular thriller “The Quiet Place”, which spent a lot of time building the silent world and lives of the characters in it, “Bird Box” rushed through plot explanations and character development in exchange for faster thrills. However, it’s hard to root for characters when you don’t care too much about the predicament they’ve found themselves in, or for the invisible villain that takes the form of a heavy draft of wind. The film was filled with plot holes that were never thoroughly fleshed through and the breaks between timelines leaves a lot to be desired.
Personally, I would leave my blindfolds on for this one.
However, the question about whether or not “Bird Box” was good is eclipsed by the fact that 45,037,125 separate Netflix accounts tuned in to watch the thriller’s release, breaking Netflix’s record for most views in one single week! “Bird Box” is just more proof of how the landscape of film releases is changing and why large power houses like Apple and Disney are joining in on the lucrative streaming game (as mentioned in this article).
Check out the trailer here:
