AMB Reviews

The Box: 5/10 Stars

Release Date: November 6, 2009

Content Advisory: Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some violence and disturbing images. Two women are shot, both with only minimal blood. A snowplow smashes into a car (sending it flipping through the air). Several intense moments. A man is shown missing half his face (very CGI-ish and unrealistic looking). Many moral questions are asked, dealing with forgiveness, consequences of our sins, and the afterlife.

Review:

"The Box" had me hooked from its savvy trailer. The actual movie, however, qualifies as one of the weirdest movies I've ever seen...

In Short:

"The Box" has a good premise. A couple struggling financially are given a box containing a button. If pressed, they will be given one million dollars. The solution to all of their problems, right? There's a catch though... one person whom they don't know will also die. So what do they do now? However, once the button is pressed, there will always be consequences. The main couple, Norma and Arthur, don't figure this out, of course, until after they press the button. It had me hooked at its beginning, but slowly began to slide downwards as the plot spiraled more and more out of control. It poses many questions on morality, but rarely ever answers them. The acting and visuals were both impressive enough, but with no real direction, they just aren't enough to save this sloppy old-fashioned mystery.

In Full:

Norma and Arthur Lewis are struggling. Arthur just lost his job, while their child's school is no longer offering tuition discounts. They need money... badly. So when a box containing a button and a creepy old man show up on their doorstep, Norma is just completely willing to let this complete stranger into her house (sarcasm alert). He tells her that if the button is pressed, they will receive one million dollars, but that someone they don't know will also be killed. Tough choice, huh? They have 24 hours. Of course, when the button is pressed, they must live with the consequences of their action. The plot was based off of a 1980's Twilight Zone episode, and though it has a great premise (and trailer), it loses steam halfway through when things grow messy, unrealistic, and just downright weird. Its old-fashionedness was definitely a pro, but when the movie has no real direction (or answers for all of the questions it asks), there's not much that can save it.

Cameron Diaz here plays an old fashioned woman with spunk and strength. Though she makes her share of stupid decisions throughout the film, she loves her son and her husband and will do anything she can to gain forgiveness. Though she sometimes sounded contrived and uncaring, she pulled it off for the most part with a certain elegance, grace, and... an accent. James Marsden turns in a surprisingly decent performance as her husband, Arthur, who is also strong, brave, and determined to win. Frank Langella gives an eerie and downright creepy performance as Mr. Steward (the old man proposing the offer), and though he's never given too much to do, he lights up the screen whenever he is on it.

The visuals were what really impressed me. This is made to look like an old-fashioned move. It laid along the lines of "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers," or somewhere around there. That being said... it is 2009, so the visual effects are definitely more up-to-date and advanced. Though I wasn't a huge fan of the film, several moments had my eyes locked to the screen due to the stunning visuals. It never overdoes it here... it keeps its feet on the simple and straight path, and in this occasion, I was very happy it did. It retained its older, Hitchcockian style that way, without losing its habit of hitting us with great visuals right as we're getting restless.

What can I say? I've already hit up many of my complaints for the film. It has a totally crazy plot that takes us down a spiraling path full of twists and turns that leads us straight to a dead end. There are times when I love a good outrageous plot with crazy and unrealistic turns. But I also like those type of movies to at least offer some type of resolution. Here... we get nothing. We're thrown down this twisting path before running right into a brick wall. I also found it somewhat slow... many of the scenes had me interested, as they had a vibe that things would pick up. Did they? Not really. Even up until the end, every scene that you thought would escalate into something big never really did. "The Box" is made up of a collection of lesser, small-impact scenes that eventually just end. Cue credits.

As much as you might think that I hate this movie right now... I don't. I really wanted to like this movie. The trailer was wonderful, and had me watching it at least 10 times. Then the movie started, and I was hooked. It started off snappily, the eerie mood was set right off the bat, and I thought all would be well. Then it took a few sharp turns, got a bit slower, and began to head off track. Soon, it took some even sharper turns, slowed down even more, and strayed even farther. It asks many questions, none of which are answered, and delivers a plot so crazy that it just needs an explanation. Are we given one? Nope. Nothing but the end credits. Movie endings are like shoes. Some are tied rather tightly, while others are left looser. Either one can be a good or bad thing, depending on the movie. "The Box" is like an untied shoe... even looser than lose. And after jogging down a winding path filled with moral questions and unbelieveable plot twists without tied shoes, you end up tripping. The trip wasn't enough to ruin the movie completely for me, but definitely left me feeling like this one could've waited for its DVD release.