Enigmatic indie director Richard Kelly is nothing if not ambitious. His debut feature, the cult favorite Donnie Darko, tackled both suburban ennui and quantum physics. His follow-up, Southland Tales, combined elaborate dance numbers and juvenile comedy with apocalyptic Bible quotes and Patriot Act criticism. Kelly's latest effort, the sci-fi thriller The Box, turns a forgotten Twilight Zone story into a sprawling existential discourse on humanity's predilection for greed and solipsism.
The Box begins with a straightforward premise and uses it to launch headlong into bizzaro-land. In 1976, a mysterious box arrives at the doorstep of a suburban Virginia couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden), followed by a well-dressed, horribly disfigured man (Frank Langella, looking even creepier than Nixon) who bears a strange yet enticing proposition: If one of them pushes the bright red button atop the box, they will receive a cash payment of $1 million, and a person they do not know will die. There are a few binding stipulations, naturally — a non-disclosure agreement, etc. — but none more onerous than those found in the standard cell-phone contract.
Of course they decide to push the button (blame the wife); there wouldn't be a movie if they didn't. But the momentous decision doesn't occur until almost 40 minutes into The Box, during which Diaz's Norma and Marsden's Arthur are revealed to be among the most daft protagonists in the history of sci-fi. It's like watching the Tommy Lee/Pamela Anderson sex tape, except instead of sex, the two vapid stars engage in an extended ethics debate.
Furthering the notion is what appears to be an intense game of bad-acting one-upsmanship on the part of the two lead actors (hint: Diaz wins!).
Their creepy benefactor keeps up his end of the bargain and hands over the cash, but Arthur and Norma don't even get a chance to enjoy their newfound riches before unpleasant things begin happening all around them, not the least of which is an epidemic of bloody noses among the townsfolk. The more they try to determine the nature of their predicament, the worse it becomes, until they find themselves at the center of a vast, bats**t-crazy, M. Night Shyamalan-esque conspiracy involving space travel, telepathy, mind control and a really, really irksome Martian.
It's not all bad, mind you, but every time The Box seems on the verge of developing into something really cool, either director Kelly takes another bizarre left turn or Diaz delivers another jaw-droppingly bad line. Perhaps most infuriatingly, at no point during their travails do either Arthur and Norma ever consider dipping into their stash of cash. You know, a million bucks can buy a helluva lot of ammunition — especially in 1976 dollars.
Joking aside, Richard Kelly does deserve credit for being one of the most thought-provoking directors out there. But why does the prevailing thought always have to be "What the f**k?!?"
Hollywood.com rated this film 1/2 star.
Network Reviews
Did I really just watch this????? 
Posted by: Sdantec19 | 6/7/2010 8:39:46 AM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
Ok so I figured that since there were a few good actors that mayeb the movie would be ok. Yeah right boy was I wrong. Not one moment during the movie did it seem to make any kind of sense. The whole movie was a waste of time on my part and money on the director and those who paid for it, part. Cameron did you really need the money that bad????
What just happened? 
Posted by: kabanek | 1/2/2010 11:32:00 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
Is it just me or did I just watch a guy hover over a bed in a floating box of water? Did I just sit through 2 hours of nonsense?
To the producers, directors and actors: what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent movie were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you one star, and may God have mercy on your soul.
If you think you understood this movie, I mean really understood it, the NSA, Mars, NASA, Floating water boxes, Zombies with bloody noses. Then just stop what you are doing and go outside. Be social. Do something out of your normal routine. This movie sucks and there is no point to the last 90 minutes of it,
Not what I expected... 
Posted by: BWRIGHT526 | 12/12/2009 8:59:53 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
It was along the times of some Night Gallery or Twilight Zone short. Wasn't disappointed, but not what I expected.
Mysterious and enigmatic... 
Posted by: Eric Melin | 11/25/2009 1:14:01 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
Richard Kelly is back to his old tricks again. All of the threads of a story involving NASA, unexplained murders, and a classic moral quandary may not add up to a concise thriller, but it sure makes for an inspired and original one. After all, "Donnie Darko" doesn't make 100 percent sense either. Both films explore the malaise and paranoia of their era (70s, 80s) credibly.
Bad...plain & simple 
Posted by: 2turners | 11/25/2009 8:32:06 AM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
This movie was pretty worthless. The moral of the story could be determined within the first 45 minutes, so the remainder of the story was pointless. It didn't even answer any of the questions. I often wonder, who produces these films, and why?!
Hated this movie 
Posted by: peternasty | 11/24/2009 11:19:49 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
Convoluted, misogynistic, and completely unsuspenseful. My full review here:
http://furloughfilmfest.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/furlough-friday-the-box/
Out of my league... 
Posted by: MBALDOZA | 11/22/2009 3:54:17 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
The preview to this movie was interesting when I saw it on television. It began "cheesy" so to speak, simply because it was bad acting and the characters were totally out of their movie role leagues. For example: Cameron Diaz was playing a mom acting role and didn't fit her typical persona in cinema. I wouldn't watch it again. It was sooo... predictable.
soo slow 
Posted by: sahmjodii | 11/19/2009 8:12:26 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
a little hard to follow, but nice story
ANOTHER REMAKE:( 
Posted by: Shane | 11/19/2009 3:06:25 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
Lets see, take a 22 minute Twilight Zone Episode and stretch it in to 2 hours. Anyone that has seen the episode knows the outcome and the movie is really an overprice waste of time.
Huh? 
Posted by: Lynndee | 11/16/2009 1:23:16 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
That is what i thought when i left the theater! So So Sad! Come on peoples, start making better movies!
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