Debates can be held for weeks on end about the impact that social media has on our culture. Is it valuable? A distraction? Do we waste too much time on it? Or are we not using it to the best of its abilities? Weirdly enough, all of that can be true. But for the purpose of the new movie Missing, a sequel to the John Cho hit Searching (which we gave a positive review), technology saves lives… literally. Even though Cho didn’t return for the sequel, the producers and screenwriters figured out new ways to tell stories in the Searching genre, this time shifting gears to a new character played by The Last of Us co-star Storm Reid.
Missing begins when Grace Allen (Nia Long) leaves for vacation with her new boyfriend (Ken Leung), leaving her teenage daughter June (Storm Reid) at home. June does what you’d expect – hangs with friends, orders too much food, and parties. But on the day that June’s supposed to pick Grace up at the airport, the mom never shows, sending June on a manhunt using all forms of technology that are at her disposal.
Sitting down with Storm Reid on behalf of Missing, we asked her to compare her own tech skills to those of June, and wondered if the movie changed her opinion on the amount of technology in her own life. She opened up about social media, telling CinemaBlend:
I think I’m moderately technically savvy. But June is way, way better than I am. I think that’s what makes the movie so cool and so fresh and so fun is that it’s relatable. We do live in the era of social media so I think people are going to be able to recognize the social media platforms that she’s using. It will make them feel a little bit more part of the journey when trying to figure this mystery out. And I think that’s very cool.
In case you don’t recall Searching, its spiritual sequel Missing uses a similar format of telling its story through laptop screens, televisions, security monitors, relevant social media apps, and many other creative outlets that keep the action flowing, and keeps you paying attention to the sheer amount of footage that is moving across the screen. It’s represented really well in the Missing trailer, which I’ll include below:
And so far, it’s working. We gave Missing a solid review, and we aren’t alone. The early buzz on Missing was very solid, and that gives the movie a chance to tap into the same audience that powered M3GAN to a box office win and guaranteed that movie a sequel. And the thing about the Searching series is that it’s rooted in a style, so you can keep switching from John Cho to Storm Reid to the next actor, so long as the look of the picture stays fresh. We are excited to see how Missing does at the box office, and will continue to track all of the Upcoming 2023 Movies dropping in theaters as the months continue.
