Buried

Buried is surprising in that it’s not an indie festival flick, but a mainstream movie. Some viewers may consider that to be a drawback, but for me, the film’s ability to captivate and move the masses with a single actor in such a small place is its greatest asset. It thus comes closest to Joel Schumacher’s Phone Booth, in which the desperate protagonist squirms in an equally confined space, though standing upright and with a better view:-). Buried is superbly written, filmed and acted, with an ending that delivers an uncompromising knock-out blow. (12/06/2011)

Yeah, Buried is a very interesting film that takes place in one coffin with one man, one lighter, one mobile phone, one pen… but to tell you the truth, all that minimalism ends up being almost too limiting. I would have liked to have a look somewhere out of that box, which is proof that the creators didn’t fully manage to turn an attractive premise into a feature film. Buried is certainly worth watching, it’s one of the best thrillers of the year, but it didn’t make me bite my nails or get up from my chair in tension, and the logic leaves the stage too often for my taste. 70 % (12/24/2010)

The equipment from which MacGyver would make a mining drill, an air supply that exceeds the physical limit of volume and a phone signal that would make a regular operator pay in gold are compensated by an unpredictable plot and an excellent Ryan Reynolds. What is most surprising is that the director squeezes the original concept throughout the entire runtime, without any significant slump or climax. Rodrigo Cortés is a concept for the future, and not just for those opening "Hitchcock credits." 4 ½. (12/29/2010)

The male breed must be in deep trouble if even someone like Ryan Reynolds who can boast the title of Most Attractive Man in the World 2010 isn’t able to deal with a situation that members of the gentler sex can get out of blindfold (Uma) and (Noomi). And although overall he does this in an entertaining and appealing way, I can’t help feeling that this movie could have been a little shorter. (01/10/2011)

Logic gets a beating in a much harsher way than I'm used to in the thriller genre, and everything relies solely on Ryan Reynolds. He delivers an equally likable performance as usual, but unfortunately, he doesn't have and couldn't have the ability to carry the whole film on the surface of a single coffin, even with enough oxygen and signal. The salvation of the poorly executed, good concept is the ending, which, despite my slight apathy towards the protagonist's actions, stretched me to the brink of breaking. (01/09/2011)

I'm sad to say that this claustrophobic spectacle didn't impress me at all. I acknowledge that the screenplay writer and director achieve maximum results with minimal space and resources to keep the viewer's attention, but it's still a very relative success. What matters to me is that I can't believe in the film. Granted, with other genres, I don't concern myself as thoroughly with the logic of what I see, and I'm not strict in my assessment because otherwise, I wouldn't enjoy them at all. However, the fact that this thriller is based on nonsense should be easily uncovered even by an elementary school student. Overall impression: 40%. (03/20/2015)

FUUUUUUCK! A tricky situation, don’t you think? An ingenious idea to shut a guy in a coffin and then to take all his hopes away one by one. That in itself has the potential for at very least some breathtaking, erm... entertainment (?) that can be completely emotionally draining for the viewer. Buried remains somewhere in mid journey, and its main enemy is time. If the movie were an hour long and it could have been absolutely perfect, this way it’s one and a half hours and is “merely" above average. The side-stories are so unlikely that they are damaging and take the attention away from the most important aspect, intruding into the stifling atmosphere which the absolutely amazing direction managed to create. The camerawork and the lighting are first rate. And we also have Ryan Reynolds who gives the performance of a lifetime. An extraordinary picture. What’s your social security number? (12/23/2010)

Really suspenseful, almost worth a heart attack at the end. God. While I would have voted for the film to be set anywhere other than Iraq, the location was ultimately the last thing I was interested in. The theme of the living funeral has been interesting for both readers and viewers since E. A. Poe and director Cortés handled it brilliantly. The atmosphere is dense, unpredictable things happen, and the main character's phone calls from trying to find anyone to help him in one of the final scenes are more chilling than the underground stay itself. Ryan Reynolds gave a great performance and I praise Victor Reyes' honestly over the top music. (09/26/2012)

Yeah, Buried is a very interesting film that takes place in one coffin with one man, one lighter, one mobile phone, one pen… but to tell you the truth, all that minimalism ends up being almost too limiting. I would have liked to have a look somewhere out of that box, which is proof that the creators didn’t fully manage to turn an attractive premise into a feature film. Buried is certainly worth watching, it’s one of the best thrillers of the year, but it didn’t make me bite my nails or get up from my chair in tension, and the logic leaves the stage too often for my taste. 70 % (06/08/2011)

Let's put an uninteresting man in a coffin and watch how uninteresting he is. The main character's hideous defeatism at a point when he could at least try to break out those already cracked coffin boards, but he'd rather take revenge on whoever threw him in there by making his phone bill more expensive by making one international call after another. It also wasn’t until the second half of the film that someone finally explained to the director that fire takes oxygen, among other things, so we can't be surprised that for the first 30 minutes the protagonist lights his Zippo just to lie down. On the other hand, the ending left me feeling with a really bad taste in my mouth, and a film that takes place entirely in a coffin can be made little better. (07/30/2012)