Missing (2023) Review

 "Mom, this is Facetime."
-June Allen



Grace Allen (Nia Long) goes on a trip to Columbia with her boyfriend, Kevin (Ken Leung), but never returns.  Her teenage daughter, June (Storm Reid), is left to try and figure out what happened to her.  As the media catches wind of the story, June discovers that her mother has secrets and her disappearance isn't all it seems.


What Works:

I really like this style of movie.  It works really well in the previous movie in this series, Searching, and the Unfriended movies.  It's an interesting medium to tell a story through and it forces the filmmakers to get creative.  It gives the audience a unique experience, for better or for worse, but usually for the better.

Storm Reid is the best part of the movie.  She gives an excellent performance and carries the film on her back.  A lesser actor in this role could have ruined the movie, but she gets to show off a wide range and does an excellent job in all of it.

I love the relationship June builds with Javier (Joaquim de Almeida), a gig worker June hires to be her boots on the ground in Columbia.  That's a really funny and interesting component of the movie on its own, but the relationship the characters build is really nice.  It reminds me of Kevin and Old Man Marley in Home Alone.

Finally, the movie is very thrilling with some excellent twists.  There were two big ones where I was genuinely thrown for a loop.  It's fun not knowing exactly where a movie is going and even most of the predictable elements had at least a minor twist to make it more fun and interesting.


What Sucks:

The biggest problem with the movie is that the characters make some very stupid decisions.  It's a little more understandable with June, as she's just a teenager, but that doesn't stop it from making the movie frustrating at times.

Finally, if you think about the overall plot and how everything ties together too deeply, it all falls apart.   It's not exactly a tight narrative.  That's fairly nitpicky, but this movie does require you turn part of your brain off and just enjoy the ride.


Verdict:

Missing isn't as strong as Searching, but this was still a fun thriller with an interesting and well-executed premise, some strong characters, and surprising twists.  Some of the character decisions and plot connections don't make a ton of sense, but this movie has still got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Argylle (2024) Review

Image
 "The human skull is shockingly brittle." -Aidan Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a very successful spy novelist.  She draws attention from the espionage community when plot points in her books come true.  When Elly is attacked on a train by a group of spies, she is rescued by another spy, Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who needs her help with his mission and to do that, she needs to write another chapter of her latest book. Spoilers Below.  Go ahead and read on because I don't recommend this movie, but either way, you've been warned. What Works: Argylle has a really fun premise that really works in the first half of the movie.  It's a fish-out-of-water, buddy-cop, spy movie, and it's a blast.  Watching Ellie predict where to go based on what the characters in her books would do is a lot of fun.  It's what the whole movie should have been. The opening sequence follows Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) on another dangerous mission as he pursues the villainous LaGrang
Read more

Top 10 Movies of 2023

Image
2023 is finally over and it's time for me to put my Top 10 list together.  2023 was definitely a weaker year for movies.  There were definitely some great movies, but there were also plenty of disappointing and bad movies as well.  I still managed to put together a great Top 10 with a couple of worthy contenders that just missed the cut.  Let's take a look! #10. They Cloned Tyrone They Cloned Tyrone is a wild and fun sci-fi tale that takes place in the hood.  A drug dealer, a pimp, and a prostitute discover a cloning conspiracy and the results are intelligent and hilarious.  This is a really smart and funny movie with some amazing performances across the board.  This was a movie that kept me guessing the whole way through.  What an absolute blast. #9. Renfield I'm guessing Renfield will be the most controversial entry on my list as I feel like I'm the only person who liked this movie.  I love the old Universal monster movies and the fact that we get a direct sequel, whi
Read more

Madame Web (2024) Review

Image
 "When you take on the responsibility, great power will come." -Santiago Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson), a New York paramedic, hits her head in an accident, which unlocks the ability to see glimpses of the future.  When she sees Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) attempting to murder three teenage girls, Cassie intervenes to save them.  As Cassie learns to understand her power, she also discovers the connection between her, the girls, and Ezekiel. What Works: I think the core idea at the center of this movie is a good one and has the potential to be interesting.  Cassie's superpowers are kinda lame.  It's not like they're going to help in a combat situation.  Ezekiel is basically evil Spider-Man.  He has legitimate powers and is a massive threat.  That's an interesting conflict.  How does someone with lackluster superpowers take on a supervillain.  It's a fun idea that I would like to see tried again with greater success.  What Sucks: This movie was embarrassing to
Read more