Missing

I had to pause the movie at one point, and thought about 45 minutes had passed. I was actually at the 68-minute mark when I paused, so I think that's a sign it was doing something right as a fast-paced and engaging mystery/thriller film.

It's the kind of thing that almost has too many twists, but you kind of just have to go with it, and they never frustrated me too much. It was a tiny bit exhausting, but I respect how hard they committed to making things as unpredictable as possible.

Like with Searching, the presentation in Missing is mostly fun. As far as negatives go, though, I can't really go into details without spoilers, but the presentation in the final act felt a bit off to me at points. The filmmakers had certain limitations to deal with thanks to the modern-day found footage format, but they stretched it a bit near the end there. You go from one big twist to "oh, I guess they have to show everything this way now," and it's a bit much.

Otherwise, this is pretty good stuff.

I almost did not go see it. It looks so much like the movie Searching that it was a bit of a turn off. Searching stared John Cho as a father looking for his daughter. Missing stars Storm Reid as a daughter looking for her mother. Both characters use the computer to look for these people and are filmed in the preceptive of the camera on the computer. You can say the same thing about action movies or horror movies. But the feel of seeing these characters in nothing but the point of view from a computer camera makes it feel very alike.

In comparison Searching now feels like a warmup to Missing. Missing has got some hardy meat on its bones. Where this movie goes and how it escalates works well and is well orchestrated. It had a great story to it, and it was well acted. The horror element of the movie seemed bigger than Searching. Fear for the characters wellbeing became genuine because of some good set up by some good actors.

It was exciting and fun.

I genuinely enjoyed 90% of the film. The idea of having this young woman sleuthing through little more than the apps on her phone and laptop was quite well presented. So much so that, frankly, the scenes set outside that computer setting looked uninspired and slapdash, namely any of the cable news programming and police news conferences. The silly little things we all experience with the internet and social media were solidly, often amusingly, displayed (my favorite perhaps being the slight hesitation deciding whether a front edge of a bumper constitutes part of a yellow school bus in a CAPTCHA picture).

And sure, there are numerous plot holes, mainly due to trying to maintain the mystery (the who?, how?, why? Only come into question after the reveal). But all this can be ignored, as the movie was genuinely engrossing for the majority of the picture. Until... the reveal, which, no spoiler, is sadly predictable. And while I don't entirely object to the nature of the resolution itself, the movie oddly changes pace into a rather pedestrian imitation of an action-thriller. I really wish it had been able to maintain its core atmosphere, and not descend into the ordinary.

Now this gonna have all girlfriends thinking they private investigators 🙄

Usually, I'm not a big fan of screen-life movies, but Missing effectively displays scenes that don't make it feel like the typical one.

June Grace ( Storm Reid), a teenage girl, investigates her mother's ( Nia Long) disappearance through various technological means, Such as Ring, FaceTime, and Instagram.

The movie gets better as it progresses, building an entertaining sense of thrill as the mystery comes alive with two refreshing plot twists. The film does an adequate job of misdirection. I enjoyed the different perspectives and angles used through various camera approaches, which didn't allow me to focus on the fact that this is viewed through a screen. The movie was active. The portrayal of online activity always being traceable was displayed well.

Verdict: If you like crime mysteries, then you'll enjoy this movie; enjoyable and has a decent enough plot twist to make you feel like it is worth your time. Storm Reid did well!

Grade: C+ Thrill: B Plot: B Execution: C.

June becomes concerned when her mother Grace doesn't return home from a trip to Colombia with her new partner Kevin.

First off, if you've seen Searching, you'll be very aware that it was made by the same people, I loved that, I loved this one.

What a clever plot, it's just a good old fashioned mystery, but one with a twist, this time it's the child searching for the parent, and instead of physically searching, she does it all with technology, makes a change to see tech given a positive spin.

Edge of the seat viewing, it is full of twists and surprises, you never know what is coming next, it doesn't follow any of the usual conventions. It didn't bore me for a second, what a triumph in writing.

Storm Reid was excellent as June I thought, a convincing performance, you really did get a sense of June's desperation and frustration.

9/10.