Director: Rodrigo Cortes (2010)
Starring: Ryan Reynolds.
It's Ryan Reynolds in a coffin, and that's it. So one's enjoyment of Burial depends firmly on one's tolerance for Ryan Reynolds. Thankfully, Ryan Reynolds has grown upon me since ruining Blade Trinity. Although, to be fair, after Blade Trinity and Van Wilder: Party Cunt, I'd have been quite happy to have seen him buried underground, never to make another movie again.
But he has improved since then. No longer reliant on one-liners and his abs, Buried gives Reynolds a chance to bust some acting chops. A truck driver in Iraq, Paul Conroy (guess who) is kidnapped and dumped underground in a coffin in the desert. Like Kill Bill: Part 2 and the Tarantino CSI episode, but with less of anyone or anything else. Except maybe (SPOILER) a snake and some sand. Buried with nothing but a mobile phone and a few other basic items, Paul makes some frantic calls to try and sort out a rescue. What he wouldn't give for a Power Ring now, eh.
It's masterfully acted and directed, but dare I say it, I found Buried kind of dull. Perhaps if I suffered from claustrophobia it may have had more of an effect, but it's not much better a movie than Phone Booth. Aside from its central conceit and the impressive lead performance, Buried offers no surprises nor anything particularly original. I saw its ending coming a mile off and was left simply underwhelmed.
In all fairness, I think Kill Bill ruined stuck-in-a-coffin deathtraps for me. I spent all of Buried wondering why Reynolds didn't just punch his way out of the thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment