“Missing” is not a sequel to “Searching” but feels more like another piece in the Searching Cinematic Universe saga. There’s just a slight mention of the mystery from the 2018 blockbuster in a frantic, early montage, an aggregation of images and noises that make it hard for us to relax right from the beginning.
Nonetheless, while “Searching” was all about a father seeking his daughter within screens—computers, mobile phones and surveillance cameras― through which he went through information gathered through her online presence, “Missing”, on the other hand, brings out this narrative in relation to a daughter looking for her mother. But trying to catch lightning in bottle twice is almost impossible, hence Missing falls short of its ingeniously mysterious precursor. The search may have sounded like something gimmicky; however it worked because it was relatable given its disturbing premise. While John Cho’s character tries desperately to find any clue regarding his daughter’s whereabouts by going over her internet use history there is a voice inside our heads telling us that we too would have been smart enough to follow those steps. Very well acted by Cho, who had close-ups of his face for almost every frame; there was nowhere for him to hide, as he showed all the manifestations of fear and hope with great subtlety.
Just like “Searching,” this new movie from Nick Johnson and Will Merrick teaming up as writers/directors—with a story by Aneesh Chaganty & Sev Ohanian—adopts exactly the same approach. Although it amazingly negotiates many plot twists, ultimately going into exaggeration with some elements so depleting much of realism which made it so gripping throughout most part of t But also “Missing” is zippier across multiple axes because instead of middle-aged dad figuring stuff out as he goes along we watch an 18-year-old high school senior who has interacted with this kind of technology all her life.
June Storm Reid is a true multitasker, she is a digital native. It’s as though Lydia Tár was conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker but with FaceTime and Venmo and Spotify. The time we see June moving between tabs, tapping on her keyboard, we learn so much about how she spends her day even before Grace, her mother who is now widowed (played by Nia Long) takes off to Columbia for a vacation with Kevin (Ken Leung). She would normally leave the camera open on her computer this way allowing us in for a bit inside her room and seeing the way she behaves when she is not using screens. As portrayed by Reid, June has an inviting presence and it becomes evident quickly that she is intelligent as well as sassy.
Nevertheless, things change once June doesn’t find Grace & Kevin at LAX upon their planned arrival: the moment they meet at baggage claim what turns out to be because of June’s setting up of his cell phone to capture that moment – do we witness this also —her gut instincts and years online come into play in full swing. There’s an increasing sense of panic when she fails to communicate effectively with the receptionist who only speaks Spanish in one of Cartagena hotels. However, being such a resourceful person she realizes that through Google maps and an errand runner from Taskrabbit kind of service provider named Javi (in this suspenseful scenario, Joaquim de Almeida injects some warmth and humor), it is possible for me to navigate this city remotely.”
June’s actions of breaking every new password, web page she accesses and email she reads do not provide any answers but rather prompt many inquiries to her viewers, and “Missing” makes us question these characters again and again. However, it is a great guessing game for the audience on what is really happening here after Gracie’s disappearance becomes national news; Johnson and Merrick have their own thoughts about the macabre nature of tragedy-seekers. In contrast to “Searching,” one major difference in the new TV series “Missing” involves experts analyzing each case minutely via internet formats like podcasts or TikTok, making unfounded judgments or spreading conspiracy theories for sake of personal fame. It leaves you with mixed feelings at once. Besides that, The directors also effectively use Ring security video footage since it provides a sense of tension which was not as much in vogue during the time when the first movie was made – we see enough to know that there is more than meets the eye.
But if the wonderfully crazy “M3GAN” tried to warn about how dangerous relying heavily on technology could be, by comparison “Missing” seems more like a tribute to all these prospects. Another thing ‘Missing’ reminds us of is always using passwords without combining our childhood dog names with kid’s birthdays.
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