Review: 'Songbird' Rushes, Stumbles, in Commenting on Right Now

The first big feature shot during the pandemic about the pandemic, the Michael Bay-produced "Songbird," will get noticed for that feat, but it should also be recognized as the most irresponsible film of the year.

Written by director Adam Mason and Simon Boyes, the story of "Songbird" centers on a handful of people and how they deal with a pandemic in 2024 called "Covid-23." This version of the Coronavirus is airborne and so deadly that most people are trapped and living inside, while a small percentage of the population are immune. The "munies" wear a yellow encoded bracelet to prove they are immune and can move about the world freely.

The movie opens with Nico ("Riverdale" star K.J. Apa), who is out delivering packages to the housebound. One such client is the Griffin family headed by Bradley Whitford and Demi Moore, along with their daughter Emma (Lia McHugh). Piper (Moore) and her husband run a side business getting counterfeit Immunity bracelets that they sell for $150k a pop. These are in high demand because anyone infected with the virus (which kills in 24 hours) and those around them are imprisoned in what is labeled the Q Zone.

So here we have the hot and handsome Nico, racing around the underpopulated Los Angeles (literally, there's no one on the streets besides him and the "sanitation" people snatching the infected out of their homes), all the while talking to his girlfriend Sara (Sofia Carson), a girl he's never met in real life. She lives with her grandmother in isolation, as she is not immune. Every morning she and her grandmother (and all the other characters) must do a scan of themselves with their phones to prove they are virus-free. If the scan indicates they are infected, the "sanitation" crew is sent to drag them to the Q Zone.

Nico's intention is to someday get Sara out of confinement so they can finally be together.

Meanwhile, a social media singer played by Alexandra Daddario entertains the masses because, for some unknown reason, no one can listen to music any more (?). There's still power, and clearly still social media, so how and why people can't listen to music is beyond me. Anyway, she gets donations to stay afloat, but she is also involved in something a bit more dangerous.

Back to Nico: When Sara's grandmother gets sick and she knows they will both be taken away, Nico races against time to obtain two counterfeit immunity bracelets so he can save his girlfriend and her grandma.

And that's the problem with this entire concept of this film.

This virus is airborne. No one should be outside unless they are immune. So basically, Nico is going to get fake immunity bands to get his girlfriend out of her apartment where she could literally get the virus immediately and die. And we're supposed to root for him?

Not to mention, we're supposed to be on board with the idea that people are selling fake immunity bracelets that will get infected people outside, where they can literally kill people by spreading the disease? It's like rooting for the anti-maskers. What were the filmmakers thinking?

Sure, the villain of the piece is a hypocritical psycho played by Peter Stomare, but he is at least making sure those with the virus remain contained. He does it in a nasty way, but he's not wrong. The villains are really Nico and the Griffins. It doesn't matter what the final outcome of the film is (it's happy, surprise); the risks the characters take, all for selfish reasons, are irresponsible.

I'll give credit to the filmmakers for making a pretty good-looking film and for disguising the fact that actors weren't standing that close to each other when it appears they are. Only a few actors get close, but unless you're looking for it, it's not noticeable. Bravo.

The actors are all good, but the script feels like a first draft rushed into production. It's never sure what it wants to say, and the characters we focus on all have different stories and motives that sort of come together, but still feel entirely disjointed. It's a film that wanted to be the first out of the gate, but should have taken a step back to figure out what message they were trying to get across.

And, honestly, why is this movie called "Songbird?"

"Songbird" hits BLU-RAY� AND DVD MARCH 16, 2021