One of the most odd movies I think I have seen, had a great idea to it, but soon turned weird and then dark.

Weird storyline, and no clarity on the purpose behind the experiments. So, I’ll give it a ‘meh’

This was a fun movie to watch! It definitely started a “what would you do” debate, multiple times throughout the film. Recommend!

"Donnie Darko" writer Richard Kelly takes a perfectly fine Richard Matheson short story ("Button Button") and uses it as a jumping off point for a crazy full-length movie about aliens, lightning, Mars, and physical deformities. I...think? Actually, I lost track of what was going on just after Cameron Diaz presses the button in the box about a third of the way through.

From the moment the button is pressed on "The Box" it becomes practically as much of a head-scratcher as "Donnie Darko" is. But I didn't dislike it. In fact, I liked trying to stay with the story and I do have to admit that at no time was I bored.

"The Box" tries to mix Horror, Sci-Fi, and Drama, and succeeds...sort of.

The Box is a nebulous psychological thriller from writer/director Richard Kelly. Based on a Richard Matheson short story, a young couple is presented with an offer to receive $1 million if they push a button, but as a result someone will die. Starring Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, and Frank Langella, the casting is pretty good. But the script is a convoluted mess. It teases out some fascinating mysteries, but they devolve into inexplicable nonsense. Still, Kelly is able to create an atmospheric mood and builds the suspense incredibly well. Yet ultimately, The Box is a poorly executed film that loses its sense of mystery by getting caught up in minutia.

This is a weird movie, but in my opinion a great one, albeit a bit transparent.
Arlington Stewart gives much of the later happenings away with his choice of words in the beginning.

[spoiler] Its kind of obvious, that those who pressed the button would become the targets when the next person presses it... - No idea why it was done via NSA and NASA though - that one never got a proper explanation, some unknown entity acting alone would have been far more believable [/spoiler]

Turned into a vague weird conspiracy/SciFi mix without much details instead of a coherent story. Watch something else.

It begins rather boring and then it turns into something boring and terrible.

First 40 minutes were good. Good build of tension and mystery with OK characters. Story bearable. Optimistic.
After a while and when the plots needed to thicken and revealing a lot of odd things happen for the sake of it. For the sake of confusing to elude mystery and depth of story. Seemed cheap and I'm shocked some people think this is a deel complex movie. It just felt a forced and illogical. The problem at those time for me were that the story telling wasn't driven by character anymore but just strange idea after idea to try and make something deel out of an increasing mess. A lot of ideas could have been left out. The bigger ideas of the story don't quite fit well with the smaller details. Many ideas were just left on the shelf. I didn't feel much emotion watching this movie either and it could have been a really emotional movie. It needed a more natural approach and to really develop the characters.
Could have been better but was worth a watch. I don't think the director did justice to it.