The Missing (Full Screen Edition)

Rating:
Summary: three great female castings
Review: Hold Tommy Lee Jones' character responsible for the misery because this is a drama. He is not a light weight 50 something in this one. It takes three strong women to bring him through.

None of the western cliches here, strong and original writing is refreshing. Ronny Howard did far better than the critics acknowledged. A DVD is good but the big screen really drew me in.

Rating:
Summary: Duty, and Forgiveness.
Review: I think I must have watched a different movie than the reviewers I read below. This movie is a movie about overcoming bitterness, and doing your duty. The western element is a conveyor of the story that reminds you at once it is pointless to let the foibles of your family make you bitter, and that ultimately your family is your greatest responsibility and your greatest resource. Yes they make you crazy, yes they let you down, but still they are the ones that love you anyway. Well, that's what I think.

Rating:
Summary: Worthwhile for Western Buffs
Review: "The Missing," like so many movies released towards the end of 2003 was totally swamped by the success of "Return of the King." Watching the movie on DVD, several months later, Ron Howard's "The Missing," much like "The Last Samurai" or "Hilgado," seems to take on a life of its own. Like both of those films, much of "The Missing" is only of average quality, but there are enough strong performances to recommend them. And, for affectionatos, "The Missing" is especially worth seeing. It's a treat for me to see a new Western that isn't made for cable.

Howard seems to have intended this film as a tribute to the John Wayne/John Ford collaborations. While Howard's no Ford, protagonist Tommy Lee Jones lends his role some of the craggy gravity Wayne possessed in later films. The plot, like many Ford Westerns, is straightforward and the true joy of the film comes from the uneasy alliance between Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones' characters as they attempt to prevent rogue Apaches from selling young women into prostitution. There's also some beautiful cinematography.

The chief problem with this movie is a bizarre subplot involving the Apache gangleader. He's a witch, and he has the power to magically affect his enemies. Such a character would work well in a more fantastic film, and could conceivably work in a western if the director made it clear that his powers worked only on his superstitious followers. Howard wants this to be a real witch in a semi-realistic film and it suffers as a result. It's like forcing elements of a Wes Craven film into a Clint Eastwood story - it just does not work. The film is also hampered by an overlong running time, and by failing to distinguish itself from its influences. "The Missing" could have been a half-hour shorter and would have been better for it.

If you've already seen the true classics of Western cinema, from John Ford down through Sergio Leone, and have been converted into a Western film buff - then, this is a movie you will enjoy. I'm such a person, and I enjoyed watching Howard tackle a Western. If you are not a Western fan, this movie is probably not for you.

Rating:
Summary: A movie worth watching!
Review: Definitely a wonderful western, The Missing, brings to the screen the story of a mother of two girls and her estranged father as they hunt down the kidnappers of her eldest daughter before they make it to Mexico. There, the kidnappers led by an evil renegade Apache shaman plan to sell her along with other girls that they've collected to Mexican slavers/pimps. The whole experience will affect them in the most profound way.
The setting is 1885 New Mexico, and it is a film about human relations, hope and second chances, but most importantly about how trust, love, and inner strength, can lead out of situations, which might seem bleak or desperate at first glance.
On the negative side, the only setback is how at exactly the right time "allies" appeared to help them as well as the fact that the kidnappers were way out of their league number-wise.
Needless to say, Cate Blanchett, Tommy Lee Jones and the rest of the cast have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are outstanding to say the least!
It is a movie worth watching!


Rating:
Summary: The Missing
Review: Not only is this boring heap of junk an insult to Apache indians, but it insults the most credulous of film reviewers. It seems Ron Howard has a one dimensional view of the Apache indian because he portrayed them as theiving, murdering drunks instead of a group of people that was displaced and murdered by the white man. I lived on a New Mexico reservation with the Apache for one year and I learnt that they are very human and have goals and aspirations besides what is erroneously portrayed in the film. This is a standard fare from Hollywood which has a terrible ending and does nothing to even help the viewer understand the purpose of why this film was made. A complete career spiral for Howard, who didn't do anything good to begin with.



Rating:
Summary: Superb movie
Review: THE MISSING is a great movie, I don't know why it didn't get more attention. Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones are both exceptional. It has the ability to draw you in and keep you interested until the end. I've watched it several times and like it more each time. It should have been noticed by the Academy.

Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking .. literally!
Review: This movie has what so many lack: a story that gradually sucks you in until you are visually enthralled and in this case frightened at times. I caught myself holding my breath, as if the kidnappers would hear me! Tommy Lee Jones was terrific and believeable and Kate Blanchett and the others do a wonderful job. I was so involved witht this movie that I could not leave the room for fear I would miss something critical. Not a reaction I always have because some movies actually make you wish you were watching them on commercial television so you could get little chores done during commercial ads put in during slow tempo~!

Rating:
Summary: 'The Searchers' - lite
Review: Reading the premise you could be forgiven for thinking you were onto a winner here: Intriguing characters - sinister rogue Apache 'witch', tough independent frontier mother, estranged father who left to 'go native' - and a potentially engrossing story. But all ingredients sadly come to very little under Ron Howard's undercooked direction. Visually and dramatically the film compares very poorly in toughness, menace and visual power with 'The Searchers' on which it is clearly a riff, a decaffeinated, low-cal one at that.. Kate Blanchett gives a sturdy performance that deserved a better vehicle. Tommy Lee Jones by contrast looks ill-at-ease throughout. Of recent westerns, Kevin Costner's 'Open Range' takes up the reins of the tradition with far more satisfactory results.