The Stream: Holey unoriginal storyline Batman

The Big Screen: Pretty intense flick

The Final Bill: A movie too similar to another movie but still keeps the intensity and anxiety high

– S2S: Movie Review
Director: Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick
Writers: Will Merrick (screenplay by), Nicholas D. Johnson (screenplay by), Sev Ohanian (story by)
Stars: Tim Griffin, Ava Zaria Lee, Nia Long, Storm Reid
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes
Production Companies: Stage 6 Films
Platform: Released in theaters January 20, 2023
Notable Trailers:

Welcome to the New Year, Streamers! I guess you still say that until the end of January and the end of this month is Missing something. Missing was released in theaters January 20th and it bears an eerie resemblance to the movie Searching. Well, the minds behind Searching created a movie where after a young woman’s mother goes missing, she tries to find her from home, using tools available to her online. Yep, that’s Searching from the kid’s perspective. Let’s see how it turned out.

Let’s get this out of the way. Besides myself and Ime Udoka, WHO WOULDN’T KIDNAP NIA LONG?! Okay but seriously, if you’ve seen the movie Searching, then you’ve seen this movie or any of those movies where the film plays out on the computer screen. I don’t think anything is wrong with the vehicle they use, but can we get some type of diversity or originality to it? Well, we didn’t get anything different. So then we have to look to the actual story. The actual story is full of so many holes it’s almost not even worth thinking about it. It’s holey enough that Jesus thought about coming back to pray with it. No, seriously, the movie almost literally shouldn’t have happened or could’ve been resolved so easily. I do realize we don’t watch these things for the reality of it but I think the filmmakers should have thought more about it. If anything, this is where Searching did a slightly better job than Missing. Either way, the acting and the pace of the movie keep a strong sense of anxiety and desperation. I almost felt like my momma was missing and my search skills while admirable, ain’t on the Gen Z tip.

Speaking of the Gen Z tip, Storm Reid does her thing. Her voice can be annoying BUT if I can’t get Liam Neeson’s looking for me when I’m taken, go ahead and give me Storm Reid. It’s a simple role for an up and coming actress but she does a good job. Nia Long is Nia Long. Who doesn’t want Nia Long as their mom? The rest of the cast is pretty forgettable other than my guy Joaquim de Almeida and Kevin Leung. Both pretty limited roles but they play their part. Last but not least the star cast member is the computer screen and search boxes. What a star.

Long story short, Missing is missing something and it’s called originality. The cast conveys the intensity of the situation well but staring at a computer screen for nearly 2 hours after work is not my idea of a great time. Missing would be a pretty good streaming movie but not something you have to see in the theaters. Grab a handful of popcorn and wait for Missing to come to a stream service near you.