Review of 'Bird Box: Barcelona'

Following on from Bird Box “Bird Box: Barcelona” takes place in Barcelona where the unknown entities from the first film are reeking their havoc here as well. The world is devastated with the few human survivors only venturing outdoors while blindfolded to avoid being driven psychopathically mad at seeing the entities. One day, Sebastián (Mario Casas) and his daughter Anna (Alejandra Howard) meet up with a group of survivors living in a bus hanger. While they are sleeping in a bus Sebastian drives it outside and crashes it, leading each of the passengers to remove their blindfolds and, of course, quickly go mad committing suicide in extremely bloody ways. It is obvious that Sebastian is a “seer”, a rare person who does not go mad without a blindfold. Anna congratulates Sebastian in having “saved” those he has just killed. Later Sebastian meets another group who are convinced that “Montjuïc Castle”, on the far side of the city, is offering safe refuge so they set out little knowing the entities are the least of their concerns…

If anything, this is far more brutal than the original film with copious amounts of blood and personal suicidal violence that often makes for uncomfortable viewing. Of course, it looks amazing particularly the action sequences towards the end of the film but it is hard to get away from the fact that other than the obvious cheering on the efforts of the humans to survive the main character is someone it is very hard to sympathise with though the film-makers make this the focus of the story: Why is this man doing what he is doing? And, in some respects, they do a good job in answering this question leaving to a somewhat satisfying conclusion that, perhaps expectedly, leaves the door open for a sequel.

No comment really about the acting, there is a lot of action here with little to work with other than Mario Casas as Sebastian. He manages to play the contrast between warm and friendly then cold and ruthless quite effectively. So much so that even when he is supposed be genuinely good we don't really believe it making the ending a bit difficult to swallow.

A twist on the original film's premise, this violent film is quite disturbing though keeps viewers hooked to see how it all turns out. This is a story of redemption and how a person can be driven to do the most brutal things but I don't think it entirely succeeds in either of these.

Rating: “It is OK but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2024-02-18

Directed by: David Pastor and Àlex Pastor

Studio: Chris Morgan Productions

Year: 2023

Length: 112 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14400246/