The Box (2009)

As I said in my review of Fanboys, there are just some films where I don’t agree with a lot of people on. And like Fanboys, I enjoyed this film when a lot of people didn’t. I actually liked it more than Fanboys. And I like Fanboys a lot. But these are two different movies, so I’ll get on with my review. The Box, based off of the short story Button, Button (which was made into an episode of the 80s revival of The Twilight Zone) by Richard Matheson (who wrote the novel I Am Legend), tells the story of a married couple, Norma and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden and Cameron Diaz who get a box in the mail with a little button on top of it. A man with a half-burnt-off face (Frank Langella) tells them that if they press the button, they will get one million dollars. But, someone in the world, who they do not know, will die. Norma presses the button on impulse, but immediately regrets her decision. Then, subtle strange things start to happen, and the film builds up suspense. The suspense kicks into high gear in a single moment. When the man takes the button back, he says to Norma-“The button will be reprogrammed, and then given to someone else, who you do not know.” Then crazy stuff starts to happen, and the film becomes a mental trip that you definitely have to pay attention to in order to understand. It twists everything up on you, and holds you in a suspense lock, never letting go. And when the film hits the ending…just…wow. It knocks you off your feet. It takes a direction you never thought it would take…its just amazing. But I do know how some people will not like the film, especially the ending. But an F on cinemascore? Dang…This film is just great, and it does not deserve the hate that is being thrown onto it. Tons of people will disagree with me on this, as seen by the many reviews I have read, and I don’t care. As the great Roger Ebert said in his review, “The film reminded me of Knowing, which I loved. Many readers hated Knowing, and many will hate The Box. What can I say? I’m not here to agree with you.” And us all as film critics, we’re not here to agree with people. And while I am one of those readers that hated Knowing, The Box is a nice little suspense thriller that blew me off my feet. You might hate it, but I sure did not. I loved it.
9/10