Missing (Searching Spinoff) (2023)

[Jake Lipson]

Title: Missing (2023)

Tagline: Time is running out.

Genre: Thriller, Drama, Mystery

Director: Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick

Cast: Storm Reid, Nia Long, Joaquim de Almeida, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker, Daniel Henney, Megan Suri, Tim Griffin, Thomas Barbusca, Rick Chambers, Tracy Vilar, Karina Noelle Castillo, Jill Remez, Dalila Ali Rajah, Kendal Evans, Jalil Jay Lynch, Lauren B. Mosley, Sharar Ali-Speakes, Jameel Shivji, Monica Bhatnagar, Marcello Padilla, Rita Rucker, Ava Zaria Lee

Release: 2023-01-20

Plot: When her mother disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June’s search for answers is hindered by international red tape. Stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June creatively uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find her before it’s too late.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Missing is the sort-of sequel to Searching. The director of that film wrote this one, and it uses the same computer screen format to tell its story, but it doesn't feature the same characters or storyline. They are basically just applying the Searching style to a new mystery.

I liked Searching a lot, and this looks good too. I'm in.

As a word of warning, though, it certainly looks like the trailer gives away a lot that could be twists/spoilers. I'm not sure why they feel they have to do that, especially in a trailer for a mystery film which is going to rely on twists.



I like that they have essentially flipped Searching and seem to be doing it in reverse. That film focused on Jon Cho's character attempting to find his daughter. This time Storm Reid is trying to find her mother, so it's a kid trying to locate her parent. That is a clever way to shake up the dynamic and not make it feel completely repetitive of the previous film.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I think the twist of Searching is something you can only pull off once, or it undermines the reality of your franchise.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I think the twist of Searching is something you can only pull off once, or it undermines the reality of your franchise.

What exactly are you referring to here -- the storytelling through screens structure or the actual plot twist about who was responsible for the events of Searching? I don't think they would try to replicate the latter.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The latter. And because that was so intrinsic to the story told in Searching, it would be pretty much impossible for this new movie to be repetitive of it.

 

[Wayne_j]

I saw this tonight as the Regal Monday Mystery Movie. I was completely gripped by the movie the entire duration with all of its many twists and turns.

Before the movie the director and the star of the movie thanked everyone for seeing it for the Regal Mystery Movie and to keep the movie's many secrets secret.

My screening was about 80% full and that was after the screening I was at was added to the schedule after the first screening was sold out.

I didn't see Searching, but I really would like to now.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Storm Reid appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote the movie. Here is her interview.



I'm really looking forward to seeing the movie this weekend.

 

[Jason_V]

Much like Searching from 2018, Missing relies on a storytelling device to draw the viewer in. Here, again much like Searching, a young girl tries to figure out what has happened to her missing mother through her computer. Everything the audience sees is through the prism of technology: FaceTime, e-mail, Google, security cameras, etc. This would have been a genius way to structure a movie...if it hadn't already been done AND if it wasn't 2023. We know what tech is capable of at this point.

Nearly two hours of watching internet searches and hacked e-mails and FaceTime is fairly mind-numbing, but Missing has one great thing going for it: the audience trying to figure out "who dun it." Even in the most boring, most mundane of thrillers in this same vein, the audience should be able to play along (if they care to) to get to the end point before the main character. By definition, the "big bad" has to be someone the audience has been introduced to at some point in the film. Even one eliminates the impossible, whatever remains-no matter how improbable-must be the truth.

I let my mind start to go down this road about an hour into the film and then realized I should have definitively figured this out in the first half hour. Then I kicked myself and everything started to fall into place. (To be clear, I don't necessarily like the reveal or the "why," but it is what it is.)

Is this a well-produced movie? Sure, looks like it should through computer cameras and FaceTime and such. Is it well-acted? Eh, nothing groundbreaking, but nothing terrible for me, either. My audience seemed to be into it, especially two women sitting a few seats away from me.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I loved it and would highly recommend it.

More later.

 

[benbess]

A movie that's almost all told through computer screens is not really my cup of tea. But, that being said, it's a well enough made story that was reasonably distracting and entertaining. My rating: B

 

[Mark Booth]

We just watched 'Missing'. 5 out of 5 stars from me. This is my favorite film of 2023 (so far).

Mark