MISSING (2023)

MISSING (2023)

Tagline: Nope.

(Thriller, Drama, Too Much Screen Time) [PG-13]

In this one June’s mom has met a new man and decides to take a trip to Columbia with him. Left alone at the house with only her mom’s friend Heather to check in from time to time, June becomes concerned after her mom fails to show up at the airport to be picked up. After suffering the loss of her father, June is not about to let her mom go using the internet as her tool. 

One thing that I noticed right away about this movie is that it is shot very differently from most other movies. We do see the camera pan away from the computer screen June is using, but the vast majority of this movie is watching her interactions on her computer screen. Aside from writing reviews, I also work in IT and I have never seen anyone leave their camera on as much as she does. My own camera is almost always covered unless I am in a meeting, but maybe that happens? For the film though, showing her expressions and what she was going through added a ton of depth to this thing. 

When it comes to the cast Storm Reid (THE SUICIDE SQUAD) takes on the role of June and just crushes it. I love that her character is able to show a range of emotions, but also never bows at the altar of victimhood. We hear her get upset, but she never blames everyone else for her problems. She overcomes them and it’s extremely powerful. Joaquim de Almeida (FAST FIVE) who plays Javi, gets a ton of screen time in this as well. He was very solid as well and his exchanges with June were both touching and heartfelt. Nia Long (47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED) who plays Grace, doesn’t get a ton of screen time, but when we do see her, she is also very good. 

The pacing for me was a bit off in the beginning, but as this plot picks up – I found myself at the edge of my seat (metaphorically, not physically. That is really tough to do in a movie theater lounger). The twists and turns we get bring this flick to life and I really thought we got an incredible tale overall. This is not to say that there are not things you can’t nit-pick on, but as a fan of movies first, I really couldn’t find enough to say “yeah, this part sucked”. Nothing in the movie felt like it was just crammed in there for effect. 

The events make sense on a level that is almost too realistic for my taste, but not quite. I have a feeling going into this that it was going to be a more down-to-earth story. Also – as a quick tip, if your passwords are ALL the same for everything, you are putting yourself at risk to get hacked. Heck, any of us can get hacked at any time, but there are some things you can do to lessen your chances of that happening, and one of those things is changing your passwords often. 

The score is good, but the soundtrack is pretty forgettable. Bumping it up a bit might have actually detracted from the tone of the movie, so I am not rating it down for that. As far as the concepts in the film, the advice seems to be that family is important and giving up on them really isn’t an option. In a world loaded with selfish people. This movie was a comforting reminder that the people we love have value and drowning them out under a wave of self-loathing or technology isn’t going to fill the holes of loss. 

Okay, enough of that, I loved this thing. I wanted to leave out plot points that give away the story, but I very much enjoyed the intrigue, performances, and direction. This one gets a solid 6 out of 7. I should also note that this is the stand-alone sequel to SEARCHING which came out in 2017.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF COLUMBIA PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.