Missing

'Missing' is a standalone sequel to the hugely successful 'Searching' from 2018. At the rate technology and social media is moving, I suppose this could be seen as an updated version of 'Searching'.

June is a young girl who still misses her Dad, who died when she was very young. The film's opening scenes depict a tragic story of a young girl who lost her Dad to cancer. Her Mom, Grace, now has a new boyfriend, Kevin Lin, and they're going away on vacation.

When the time comes for June to fetch them from the airport, they never arrive, and are soon reported missing. June then decides to make use of the Internet and social media to find out what might have happened, and discovers much more about her mom and Kevin than she anticipated.

'Missing' excellently incorporates the way we use the internet nowadays, and modern social media is perfectly utilized, making the film very relevant and relatable. Unfortunately, (older) people who don't use the Internet on a regular basis might be completely lost. They simply won't understand how the events can be possible.

Just like 'Searching' we're looking at a computer or phone screen for almost the entire film - without even realizing it. The film is incredibly realistic. But wait, there's more: around the halfway mark there's a shock twist. And if that wasn't enough, there's another shock reveal during the final act.

'Missing' had my attention from the very beginning. It is a very detailed and well written script, and the editing is incredible. I found the film fascinating and captivating. I must be honest, with the film being so realistic I did find the finale a bit too sensational - almost as if they wanted to give the film more edge. This ending, however, felt too much like a crime thriller with most of the realism gone. Despite this, though, 'Missing' is a well made film that deserves to be seen.

This movie had no right to go this hard and be so entertaining. I'm likely the demographic for this type of movie, as it takes place entirely on screens and the lead is just a bit younger than me, but I typically find "fully online" movies to be boring, but this movie was exceptional. The clues are laid out but in a way where they are not super obvious, though the reveals with the clues later on are believable. The acting in this film was also much better than I was anticipating. An issue with movies like this are that there is no HD camera, so the visual aspect of acting is difficult to pull off, but the voices alone make the conversations work, and the visuals aren't too bad either. The movie works so well because of its emotional core and because of Javi, the best character. He seems like a genuinely nice dude who was played expertly by his actor, and I was rooting for him and June the whole movie.

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.

Directors Nicholas Johnson and Will Merrick return to the big screen with Missing, a similar albeit much improved rendition of their 2018 film Searching. This time around, they excel at building up tension, allowing the audience to breathe momentarily, and then plunging you right back into the drama with a new discovery. The script demanded plenty from Storm Reid, playing the protagonist June, but the lead actor holds her own, often able to dig deep for the emotionally rich scenes, which tend to come regularly in a movie depicting a voracious girl in a race against time to find her missing mother. But just as important as any actor on the silver screen is the score in the background, and Julian Scherle's score quickly caught my attention and brilliantly helped develop the atmosphere. Although there are aspects of the film that can be considered implausible, I find it difficult to hold that against it. The main character is virtually a Sherlock Holmes-level sleuth, not to mention her uncanny ability to operate a computer at the speed of light. Yet the movie requires those two plot devices in order to move forward. I went into this film with tempered expectations, but I think Johnson and Merrick are starting to get the hang of this fully computer-based movie subgenre.

I loved Searching (2018) so I was surprised that it was getting a standalone sequel.

For the most part, this is a worthy sequel that retains the great visuals and the compelling mystery of Searching (2018). Storm Reid is the main lead and she gives a great performance. Her character doesn't have a great relationship with her mother and she isn't exactly being great to her. Despite that, the movie gets you to really root for her because you see her desperation and regret once her mother is missing.

I do have a couple of gripes that make me enjoy it less than Searching (2018).

1. I find it hard to believe that the police wouldn't have access to the emails needed for the investigation.

2. Once the reveal happens, I question a lot of the overly complicated plan and the believability of it.

3. I also can't believe Javier has a 2.8 star out of 5 for his service. That guy is an MVP!

Just like Searching (2018), the mystery keeps you gripped with every twist and turn. It's a great mystery worth watching!