Movies in Review: "Searching"

Out of the new releases this weekend, Searching was the film I was most looking forward too. I am a fan of John Cho, who I am use to seeing play in comedic and supportive roles, but I found him intriguing taking on the lead in this thriller. I enjoyed the trailer and appreciated it only giving me enough to get me to come to the theater to see more. I seriously had to know how this story ended. I had come up with a number of conclusions from watching the trailer, but I had to get the real answer to what happened to Margot. I was very interested in seeing this film, but my expectations were still about average, because I believed the conclusion would be predictable. I walked into the theater hoping I was wrong.

I enjoyed the way this movie began as we are introduced to the Kim family and immediately get vested in the characters. The movie has a sweet and sad beginning that evoked a few emotions from me early. Margot goes missing pretty early and this is when the film really starts building, with John Cho and Debra Messing at the helm. The story builds very well as the pieces are put together that will lead to Margot's disappearance. The suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat, but it is the twist in the end that will get you and makes this movie well worth seeing.

This movie has decent performances and a story that is written very well. I enjoyed the emotional ride I was taken on. I became vested in every lead, in every twist, only to be totally surprised by the end...well sort of. I had an inkling who was involved with the disappearance halfway through the film, but their involvement was not what I expected, which made the ending that much better for me. This is a decent movie, especially if you are a fan of softer thrillers...B+