Reptile - An Ordinary Mystery Drama Movie

Last weekend, I got the chance to watch this movie that was just released on Netflix. I did not have any knowledge of it before but when I was looking for something new on that streaming service, I came across this one which seemed intriguing enough. All right then, let us get on with it.

Brief Story Line

Detective Tom Nichols (Benicio del Toro - No Sudden Move, 21 Grams etc) had just moved to town with his wife Judy (Alicia Silverstone - Clueless, Batman & Robin etc) and working under Judy's uncle, Captain Robert Allen (Eric Bogosian - Uncut Gems, Law & Order: Criminal Intent TV series etc). He was later caught up in a murder case which involved a Real Estate agent Will Grady (Justin Timberlake - Trolls: World Tour, The Social Network etc).

Tom and his partner Cleary (Ato Essandoh - Altered Carbon TV series etc) investigated the murder and found several people who might be involved. As he dig further, Tom found that it might not be a straight forward case. 

So how would the story conclude? You could find out in this movie.

End of Brief Story Line

I did not want to put too much details in the brief story line as it might reveal information that should be found out by yourself. Now I said above that I was intrigued by the premise as it has been a while since I saw a murder mystery drama movie (aside from one that I watched on my flight home few days before, but that's for another time). For this kind of movie, I already knew that it would be a slow burn and was content when it was moving at a steady pace and not having too much excitement. So I was kind of surprised when there was a bit of action, though not the spectacular kind but quite intense for a little while.

Although the movie started off with a brutal murder, but once I reached the middle, I could have guessed that it would lead to something bigger which was somehow quite predictable as the clues were shown not to subtly. After it was revealed, I felt the movie became too ordinary and did not expect anything more. Even the supposed twist was no longer shocking which made it less satisfactory. The movie itself had duration of 136 minutes (including closing credits) that personally was a bit long, but fortunately it did not make it tiring.

The cast generally were pretty decent. I liked Alicia Silverstone's character here as the supporting wife, though Benicio del Toro's character seemed to be emotionless, except 1 time during a square dancing scene where he at least showed a different side. Other than that he seemed to show the same expression from beginning till the end. In addition to the names above, there was also the support of Michael Pitt (Ghost in the Shell, Boardwalk Empire TV series etc) as Eli Phillips, Karl Glusman (Watcher etc) as Sam Gifford, Domenick Lombardozzi (The Wire TV series etc) as Detective Wally, Matilda Lutz (A Classic Horror Story etc) as Summer Elswick and few others. The movie was directed by Grant Singer in his directorial debut where he was also co-writer with Benjamin Brewer. Btw, the film premiered in Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) but it did not seem to be too well received by critics who gave it mixed review.

Overall it was an OK experience for me. The mystery was not too extremely complicated and even though it linked to a larger issue but not too surprising and rather predictable. The tone was understandably dark and only had very few brief lighter moments (usually involving Judy). It had a pretty standard ending with no surprises. So if you want to watch a mystery drama movie starring Benicio del Toro and Alicia Silverstone in their second collaboration after the 1997 Excess Baggage then you can give it a try. But do not expect this to be an extraordinarily fine crafted movie of such genre.

Mike's movie moments rating: 3 out of 5 stars