Bunker review – Cruz and Bardem can't rescue Zeller's shallow thriller

Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem star in "Bunker," Florian Zeller's first screenplay written directly for film rather than adapted from his own stage work. The film follows an architect who alienates his book editor wife when he agrees to design a luxury bunker for a tech billionaire.

The Guardian's review finds the film "shallow and unsatisfying," lacking the intimate authenticity of Zeller's earlier works "The Father" (2021) and "The Son" (2022). The critic notes the central relationship between the couple is underexplored in favor of home-invasion suspense elements, and faults the violent ending as "outrageously glib, silly and unconvincing," requiring off-camera exposition to explain what occurred.