Do you remember a few years ago, when Sandra Bullock starred in a movie where she was running around the city but really couldn’t figure out where she was going because she was blindfolded well now, Mario Casas is doing the exact same thing, but in Spain Bird Box, Barcelona is a kind of sequel, or maybe it’s a parallel story.
That’S now on Netflix, but should you watch after an entity of mysterious origin, annihilates, the world’s population causing those who observe it to take their lives Sebastian and his daughter begin their own great adventure of survival in Barcelona, so the whole premise of the movie, if you’ve, Never seen the first bird box is that unseen entities or beings or Spirits or whatever decimate humans by causing people to unalive themselves, if they’ve had their eyes open in the presence of the things now, this movie follows sort of the same premise as that: first one: Where we have a group of people not only trying to survive, but also to get to a place of safety, and ideally it’s a place that has other survivors as well, but this isn’t just a rehashing of the first movie with Spanish lead.
The story takes a somewhat different tact in how it uses Mario costas’s character of Sebastian. Now, I’m not going to say the specifics surrounding him, because they’re spoilers but suffice to say, there’s a brand new complication that arises and I appreciated then the use of special effects to enhance and complement those story elements now. The entities they’re still invisible, but we can always tell when they approach, because whatever’s on the ground begins to wrestle and then levitate and that’s sort of Then followed by this ominous sound.
Sometimes it could be screams or shouts other times Whispers. Sometimes it’s just this building. Growl that lets us know something bad’s about to happen when the story starts off we’re in the present, but then we’re showing multiple flashbacks throughout the story to fill us in on what happened to the world and the people with a special focus on Sebastian and his Family and we get to meet his daughter, who is an integral part of his motivations, as well as his wife too. Now there is decent tension, that’s created through this, and even though we know some of what will happen, the flashbacks still hold little anxiety because we don’t know how or when certain actions occur. That then affect the characters.
Now one large thing the movie has going against it is that not only does this feel very familiar despite new additions to the plot and unique complexities, but a lot of the story. It just comes about very abruptly rushing into certain action sequences without context and then making for kind of just this Whiplash scenario where we watch something happen out of the blue. That can be shocking and then we don’t found out why until later, even then, some of the explanations they’re safe for much much later, there was also a pretty big lack of connection with the characters. Now I was starting to feel something for Sebastian through the flashbacks but then were thrown back into the present and that sympathy it just gets overridden by the actions. I wanted more time with the characters that were supposed to become attached to, and I know there’s some of them are there just so that we can begin to feel something for them.
But given the state of the world they’re not going to last too long – and those surprises are great for the story because it does set up so situations where I want to become attached. But I’m fearful that they’re they’re gon na die now the movie’s a little under two hours, but the pacing felt uneven within that time. Sometimes it was like we were sprinting through the scenes not only high on adrenaline just due to the impending threats, but also because we have quick, vignette type, action, sequences and then moments of rest and then back to the frenzy and mostly through this there’s very little Character, growth or even development. We just watched the characters, react by waving their arms at invisible, pinatas or holding their ears and screaming, and it becomes repetitive but in quick successor. So each scene is a rinse and repeat of the previous one, but at a fast rate and then when we do get times of quiet or at least maybe just calmer situations.
The dialogue is thin and plain. And then it’s tired because it’s not bringing anything new to the table and as with most post-apocalyptic stories, some of the people they’re just just bad, if not even worse than the entities. And we do get a baddie in this. But they were so ill-defined. And then just run of the mill that it was sad, I mean the pursuit by the entities combined with Sebastian’s Arc.
I was enough, but then to add in human elements without a lot of development. On that angle, it just felt forced and awkwardly placed within the story. The biggest positive in this, for me, is the introduction of the complication that’s created for Sebastian. It adds a layer of difficulty and uncertainty to just everything, and I appreciate that and I was enjoying it now. I do wish, though, that I felt more attached to the character, and he wasn’t somebody that I was drawn to despite enjoying his story arc and then what are the largest bummers of this movie is that it feels like a total setup for a sequel like everything We just watched was only in preparation for another chapter in this and not necessarily jumping to a new part of the globe, but you know just continuing the Barcelona story, which then could connect to other parts of the world.
Now, honestly, this was a little better than I was expecting, but then also a little worse in certain areas and, as I said, multiple times, Sebastian’s story is highly interesting and it can be engaging, but the characters directed and written in a way that can counteract any Building connection, Mario Casas, I mean he’s fine in the role, but I don’t think he brings anything special. He emotes well and he portrays a scared father in a convincing way, but he wasn’t riveting within his portrayal. I like Georgina Campbell as she brings just this level-headedness and Sensibility and then also warmth, to the cast She’s a little endearing, but she’s also mostly a stranger, so that connection to her it’s fairly weak, just like it is with Sebastian. So, overall Bird Box, Barcelona offers a different perspective and spin to a world we’ve already been introduced to as an action film it’s halfway decent, delivering sequences that are exciting and sometimes tense, but for the dramatic element it falls short lacking a lot of character, development as Well, as creating a conflicted view towards the main protagonist, the storytelling suffers from Pacing unevenness and ultimately feels like a vehicle for a coming sequel, rather than focusing on a narrative that delivers the goods and then leaves room for more. While this isn’t terrible, it’s not great.
Either, there’s no sex or nudity a lot of profanity in a bunch of brutal violence. Most of that centering around self-harm. I give Bird Box Barcelona two and a half out of five couches. So are you a fan of post-apocalyptic movies? Do you have a favorite if you can’t say Mad Max Fury Road for me, I think I’m gon na go with the Book of Eli, but let me know yours in the comments below.
