The Box
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: November 6, 2009
2.5
USER SCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 279 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
44
Mixed:
53
Negative:
182
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
4
GeorgeP.Apr 25, 2010
Fine to begin with, good premise and all, then a deterioration as the movie tackled too much, became involved with more details than it could manage, lost believability, became confusing. It left too much unanswered. A disappointment.
1 of 1 users found this helpful
4
Meth-dudeApr 12, 2018
While the original dilemma was interesting and the ending was entertaining, the rest of the movie was boring, dull and way too over the top for it's own good. Watch it if you think the premise is interesting and if you like the cast, butWhile the original dilemma was interesting and the ending was entertaining, the rest of the movie was boring, dull and way too over the top for it's own good. Watch it if you think the premise is interesting and if you like the cast, but don't expect too much.… Expand
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
All this user's reviews
4
eTurkeyApr 28, 2012
What starts off as a promising film to some extent slowly but surely begins to unravel itself from that decently tied knot after the first thirty minutes. After that, it's all downhill for 'The Box'. While the premise itself is somewhatWhat starts off as a promising film to some extent slowly but surely begins to unravel itself from that decently tied knot after the first thirty minutes. After that, it's all downhill for 'The Box'. While the premise itself is somewhat interesting (based on a 1970 short story titled "Button Button") the screenplay fails to maximise whatever potential the story might have had, instead decides to capitalize on a plot line that is incredibly far-fetched and never makes perfect sense. Regardless, I'm sure *some* fans of the psychological thriller genre will enjoy.… Expand
1 of 2 users found this helpful11
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5
RayzorMooseNov 16, 2013
The Box pushes your buttons.
An extremely average execution of what possibly could have been a really exiting film. The premise is clever, and the acting is fine. The direction could use some serious help as the movie has a hard time gettingThe Box pushes your buttons.
An extremely average execution of what possibly could have been a really exiting film. The premise is clever, and the acting is fine. The direction could use some serious help as the movie has a hard time getting going. It feels like the characters are almost in limbo until finally everything happens very quickly. I would have liked to see Christopher Nolan or M. Night take a crack at this movie. The storytelling is simply poor.… Expand
1 of 3 users found this helpful12
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5
JTFeb 8, 2010
The first 3/4 of "The Box" is surprisingly entertaining and gripping. Sadly, the last portion of the film suffers from incomprehensible plot turns and reveals the characters to have little to no depth. There is also too much going on within The first 3/4 of "The Box" is surprisingly entertaining and gripping. Sadly, the last portion of the film suffers from incomprehensible plot turns and reveals the characters to have little to no depth. There is also too much going on within the story to conclude all subplots with a suitable ending.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful
5
RyanM.Mar 16, 2010
Interesting idea and concept. And at times atmospheric, creepy and moody. But overall, poorly done. Done better overall, this would've been a great cult movie. Unfortunately, mismanaged and flawed throughout.
0 of 1 users found this helpful
5
CaityBNov 10, 2009
This movie takes a cheeky idea very seriously. If you were offered a million dollars, how far would you go? In this economy? I'd go for double or nothing.
0 of 1 users found this helpful
6
thelordoffilmAug 17, 2010
The Box must be one of the most absurd movies I have seen for the year of 2009. I must admit itâ
0 of 3 users found this helpful03
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5
JonnyFendiMar 1, 2012
Lewis family finds a box on the porch of their house. It is an ordinary box with a button. Later, mysterious old man comes to tell them how the box works. If they push the button, someone on somewhere will die, and they received one millionLewis family finds a box on the porch of their house. It is an ordinary box with a button. Later, mysterious old man comes to tell them how the box works. If they push the button, someone on somewhere will die, and they received one million dollars. They have 24 hours to decide. Norma and Arthur Lewis starred by Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. The mysterious old man played by Frank Langella, that we recently see him act impressively in FROST/NIXON (2008). The Director is Richard Kelly. The Director of DONNIE DARKO (2001) whose received many good reviews from movie critics. Personally, I did not enjoy DONNIE DARKO that much. The most interesting in thiz movie is our curiosity about what is really happens. Too see this kind of movie, we had to put aside our logic for a while. Because anything we see in thiz movie is very absurd. Thiz story had been told in one of the episode of TWILIGHT ZONE series in 1980s era. The film has setting in 1976. I think the Creative Designer Team already done their job very well. Everything we see is truly 70s. The music was also thrilling, like we had been watching 70s horror movie. In the end, there will always be dilemma in our life: Is there something we already done? Or, something that we did not do? Visit My Blog on JONNY'S MOVEE : http://jonnyfendi.blogspot.com… Expand
0 of 17 users found this helpful017
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6
diego9901Feb 7, 2013
esta película es una prueba ingeniosa para la mente aunque es un poco lenta su historia salva a esta película de caer en el basio en el que han caído varias películas que intentan lo mismo
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
5
CineAutoctonoDec 22, 2015
"The Box" under a single perspective was a bit interleaving and topics of beyond and what a box to be able to do, but we do not know if that really happened , but it was chilling , but also less interesting.
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
5
EnzoP.Nov 6, 2009
The Box starring Cameron Diaz is a scary suspense thriller that almost pulled it off. The Box was a lot better then I thought it was going to be but still not good and don't even get me started about a complicated plot. By the trailer I The Box starring Cameron Diaz is a scary suspense thriller that almost pulled it off. The Box was a lot better then I thought it was going to be but still not good and don't even get me started about a complicated plot. By the trailer I thought the whole movie was going to be should I press the button or not. Well, if you thought that also you are very wrong. The plot was the only big problem about this film. Everything else was not bad. Surprisingly the acting was good, not award winning acting but you get the point. A very nice looking cast with a very underrated James Marsden. I think they acted good because it was a very easy movie to act in, and Frank Langella had to speak in a low voice and that was really it for him. But I was a bit confused at the start of the movie because when they said they had twenty four hours it seemed a lot longer the one day. They should of made the movie shorter so the plot wouldn't be so complicated. The more the movie went on, the more I got bored of watching this film. The box may of had many little problems but it had many sparks as well. The way Richard Kelly filmed the movie. The camera never just stayed in one spot. He found creative ways to show the viewers each seen. Don't forget all of the nail biter scenes. Like after when the man came, whoops almost gave away the movie. Those nail biter scenes wanted you to say no don't do it. Many times with the nail biter scenes came the freaky scenes their were a few but still made my heart jump a little. Overall The Box is a fun, stupid, funny, depressing ending movie that has all the traits for a friday night movie to see with all of your friends.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
ChrisBNov 9, 2009
Why the fuck has this gotten an equal meta-score as saw 1?? that is just plain absurd. This movie really is a saw ripoff and I was willing to give it a chance until they stole the saw theme song amd put it in the trailer. If you want a Why the fuck has this gotten an equal meta-score as saw 1?? that is just plain absurd. This movie really is a saw ripoff and I was willing to give it a chance until they stole the saw theme song amd put it in the trailer. If you want a horror movie of this style, do the right thing, and go see saw 6.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
AdamGMar 11, 2010
The movie grabs you, and keeps you interested for about 30 minutes... then comes the "twist" Save your money.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
JimFNov 10, 2009
Richard Kelly takes a perfectly comprehensible, and enjoyable, "Twilight Zone" episode (from a Richard Matheson story) and extends it into an incomprehensible, sleep-inducing feasture film that isn't just oblique but distasteful. I was Richard Kelly takes a perfectly comprehensible, and enjoyable, "Twilight Zone" episode (from a Richard Matheson story) and extends it into an incomprehensible, sleep-inducing feasture film that isn't just oblique but distasteful. I was in the minority in not liking "Donnie Darko", but it was well-made and intelligent enough to make me hope that "The Box" might be a pleasant surprise. It wasn't, the main mystery being how Kelly got major studio backing for this far-out project.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
WarnerV.Nov 19, 2009
If Richard Kelly was a chef, he would cook a marvelous meal and then destroy it on presentation by putting so much on your plate it would be falling into your lap. So it is with every movie he has ever done, they go on and on and on into If Richard Kelly was a chef, he would cook a marvelous meal and then destroy it on presentation by putting so much on your plate it would be falling into your lap. So it is with every movie he has ever done, they go on and on and on into irrelevance. He thinks every frame helps tell his story and is precious....Um, Wrong. Let me take The Box back to the editing suite and cut out all the extraneous fat. It would be a good movie then, not a 10 but definitely an 8. As it is right now, its an optimistic 6.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
MaxLNov 14, 2009
The last third undone whatever was interesting in the premise of the absurd story. Acting was decent and the setting in the 70's was nicely done. Watch the "Twilight Zone" episode for a better version.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
RodericR.Dec 23, 2009
Could have been so much better. Disjointed, odd, and a little too preachy at times. This had promise, but failed to deliver much substance. I literally laughed out loud reading the use comment that claimed the library scene was one of the Could have been so much better. Disjointed, odd, and a little too preachy at times. This had promise, but failed to deliver much substance. I literally laughed out loud reading the use comment that claimed the library scene was one of the best in cinema history. Are you freaking kidding me? Watch about 3 movies - at random - and you will likely find a MUCH better scene. There is nothing in this movie that would make me seek out the writer, director, or producer to see what else they have done. It was definitely not a zero, but anyone reasonable would struggle to give it higher than a 5.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
NobodyYouKnowNov 24, 2019
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Interesting idea that is weighed down by leaden direction and acting. The first 30 minutes were just bad -- the pregnant pauses during almost every exchange were painfully awkward. And the nearly incessant use of overly dramatic music throughout the movie was distracting rather than supportive.

I love metaphorical movies, but the metaphor here was just too heavy-handed. Yes, people are selfish and humanity kinda sucks. So, what was that point of showing how empathetic Diaz's character was (to Langella's character) after she had already pushed the button? And then make her pay anyway? I've read more sci-fi short stories than I can recall, so I'm probably jaded, but the idea of aliens judging humanity is a tired device. And Langella's scene of expository dialog around the 1:10 mark was just plain preachy and really detracted from the story. If you're going to go to all the trouble Richard Kelly did to create rather detailed metaphor, don't ruin it with preachy expository dialog.

That said, it was unpredictable enough to keep me watching till the end, but worth viewing only if you have nothing better to do.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
FilipeNetoApr 18, 2021
There are some films that make us feel like punching the director and the screenwriter... we see that it has potential for more, but they are ruined and shattered by their lack of competence. That is the case with this film, which hasThere are some films that make us feel like punching the director and the screenwriter... we see that it has potential for more, but they are ruined and shattered by their lack of competence. That is the case with this film, which has excellent premises for suspense and mystery which the stupidity of director/screenwriter Richard Kelly gradually tears down.

As I said, the film starts really well: in the Sixties, the decade of the space race, a couple receives a mysterious package with a box, apparently of little use, in which there is a big button inside a glass bell. Shortly after, they receive a visit from a very well-dressed stranger, who tells them that the box will be theirs for a day, in which they will decide whether to press the button or not. If they decide to do so, they automatically earn a million dollars, but someone in the world, whom they don't know, will die. The moral dilemma is devastating and would make anyone think a lot: on the one hand, the value offered meant, at the time, the rest of a worry-free life. On the other hand, it is money soiled with blood, even if the person who dies is not known. The film would have done well if it stayed here, and woven around this premise a moral and family drama fraught with tension, also taking advantage of the fact that the offer was perhaps too good to be real, and the identity of the employers of that mysterious man were, perhaps, even more mysterious than himself. But it doesn't... it extends too much, explores the spatial issue too much without giving rise to something really good for the story and, to some extent, it seems to want to include aliens or other strange cosmic forces. Anyway, the film becomes a mess that eliminates the initial tension and completely spoils the whole set.

The cast has the participation of Cameron Diaz, who does a satisfying and quality job, but is not able to save the film by itself. Even more impressive is the good work of Frank Langella. The actor, who already seems to have an appetite for characters with a sinister and somber touch (I remember the dark and elegant way he worked on "Frost/Nixon" and also his excellent work on "Ninth Gate"), could not seem more dark here: with part of his face burnt, elegant clothes with impeccable cut and a black car worthy of a corporate CEO, Langella is great in his character and the initial scenes, in which he shows the box and makes his offer, with an excellently modulated and deep voice are, truly, the best in the film for me. I can't see an actor better than him for this character. The rest of the cast is limited to gravitating around these two actors and giving them all the space they need for their work. James Marsden still tries to excel, but there is no way to meet with his colleagues.

Technically, the film has ups and downs. Cinematography is excellent and makes good use of everything it has, with a dark touch and low contrast. The sets and costumes are good, but there is a little more period sense: the film takes place in the Sixties, but if we take out the furniture, the old technologies (the analogical TV, the corded phone) and the theme of the space race, everything else could easily be from the Nineties. The makeup work is good, particularly the one dedicated to Langella, and there is some good and discreet CGI. The soundtrack is forgettable and hardly noticeable.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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