With so much technology in the world today, it was only a matter of time before a screenplay was written that made social media a key plot point, giving it the feel and importance of being one of the characters in the movie. With 2018's Searching, technology was readily apparent as the film was shot from a POV that bloggers use to create content for their channels. This year a "sort of sequel" film called Missing used the same technology to tell its tale of a young woman searching for her mom who didn't return from a weeklong vacation in Columbia.
June (Storm Reid; Euphoria) and her Mother, Grace (Mia Long; Big Momma's House) Live in Los Angeles having moved there after June's father, James (Tim Griffin; The Bourne Supremacy) died of cancer when she was young. Now 18, June is left alone for a week as Grace and her boyfriend, Kevin (Ken Leung; Old) go on a week-long vacation to Columbia. However, when June goes to pick them up at the airport, they don't arrive. Becoming concerned, June contacts the FBI but becomes frustrated when their investigation doesn't lead anywhere. June then takes matters into her own hands and, armed with a computer, she discovers things about her mom, Kevin, and her past she wished would have stayed buried.
Reid has been honing her acting skills for a number of years and she seems to be getting better as time goes on. She has always carried herself with a sense of maturity but that has intensified in the last few years. Long is great as June's mother and the two actresses mesh well making their mother/daughter relationship believable. Griffin tends to play military types so even though he is on the wrong side of the law he still somehow fits the part.
The 1080p resolution and 1.78:1 aspect ratio offer the viewer some sharp images with clear details present throughout. The colors are clean and the overall picture quality is strong. Having said that, most of the film, as previously mentioned, is shot POV so there is very little that would stand out with any great degree. Solid is the best you can ask for here and Sony Pictures delivers what is promised.
The DTS-HD master audio is good as well but there isn't much here to stretch the limits of what movie audio can do. Again shooting the movie through POV makes it rather dialogue driven and therefore doesn't give the audio much to work with when talking about ambient sounds. The extras are ok but there are only four of them so again, not a whole lot to sink your teeth into. The extras include: Four Deleted Scenes, Three Featurettes (The Screens That Rule Our Lives, Storm Reid And The Challenge Of Missing, and Hunting For The Missing Easter Eggs), and Audio Commentary. You honestly can skip the deleted scenes as they don't have anything of interest but you may want to watch the featurettes,
With Searching, there was a uniqueness to it. The point of view looking outward from the computer was something that hadn't really been done before (kind of like this generation's Blair Witch Project). However, Missing needed to bring something extra to the table otherwise it was just going to be the repeat of Searching, and while there are certain differences between the two films, Missing sort of feels like "Been there, done that". It also loses steam halfway through the film so even if you start out interested in the story I'm not sure it is enough to stay interested.
Missing has a good cast, with an okay story and, if you like the POV genre, it is worth watching. However, when the credits rolled, I couldn't help but feel there was something...Missing.
Grade: C+
