The Little Things (2021)

The Little Things (2021)

2021 R 128 Minutes

Thriller | Crime

Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon joins forces with Sgt. Jim Baxter to search for a serial killer who's terrorizing Los Angeles. As they track the culprit, Baxter is unaware that the investigation i...

Overall Rating

5 / 10
Verdict: So-So

User Review

  • d_riptide

    d_riptide

    4 / 10
    In my opinion, the most tragic thing about “The Little Things” is that being an outdated, by-the-basics 90’s throwback was anything but the films major disappointment (even though the fact that this script was written back in 1993 and didn’t go through any changes whatsoever didn’t do this movie any favors); it’s the lack of finality that serves as the films biggest crime as it does not follow up on its stable foundation with anything useful to justify itself. It actually bares a resemblance to The Order 1886 despite the plot not being two twigs short of being a trainwreck because even if that wasn’t the case, said story they decided to go with is so deliberately designed to be dickish and unrewarding, that any and all investment I originally had dissipated away very quickly.

    Yes, Hancock keeps the action moving briskly and with little tonal confusion; yes, Denzel puts up another intriguing performance despite sharing little chemistry with Malek or Leto and yes, the cinematography and production design are absolutely gorgeous since it goes smoothly with the vibrant 90’s atmosphere it uncannily calls for. Not to mention there is somewhat of a message saying how holding on to something for too long can eventually eat away at you but that’s all on the surface. Underneath, not much really happens. Granted, I’m not exactly a fan of movies keeping important details from me but the smart or average films at least know to leave out hints so that the audience can fill in the blanks themselves. We barely get diddly dunkables here; it trudges along at a meandering pace, abandons or flat out aborts most of its main central plot-thread, has staggering moments in which it’s impossible to suspend your disbelief and I don’t know what to make of that ending twist.

    I guess it makes sense for the message they wanted to tell but I needed closure for the rest of that mystery. Haven’t run into any worst of the year contenders yet so that’s an excellent sign so far.