*2.5/5 It's definitely a little lazy. especially in terms of the production value and cinematography. It gave me a slight headache with all of the unnecessary shaky cam. Michael Bay definitely butchered the film a bit with his typical trademarks. If you can get past how unbelievable some of the parts are, you'll find yourself with some cheap entertainment. As someone with a good memory, I found the film incredibly forgettable and couldn't even remember the names of the characters the next day, You could definitely tell that the movie was rushed for production in order to make a quick buck. It just rubs me the wrong way that, as soon as Hollywood allows filming to begin again, they begin to capitalize off a deadly virus.

It's interesting as an attempt to do a COVID thriller -- and was mostly entertaining -- but I found the dialogue to have too many cliches -- and the plot rested on a lot of highly implausible factors (like the fact that after the abuela got sick and the guards arrived at her house to extract her they waited a few hours to actually do anything -- giving the immune boyfriend time to try and get passes for her).

A strong cast and a timely story make "Songbird" a worthwhile watch. The world-making at the start of the film is successful, but many of the story threads are left hanging — or devolve into cliche — and leave viewers wanting more.

Perhaps it hits a little close in 2020. Not sure I'd call it entertainment or escapism.