Reptile (2023)

[mwynn]

Reptile | Benicio Del Toro & Justin Timberlake | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

[sandboxgamer]

I’m always down to watch a murder mystery. Benicio Del Toro looks great as the lead detective on the case. He’s one of the best actors in the world. I’m looking forward to this.

[Zivouhr]

Looks interesting.
Only on Netflix though, so no theatrical release or disc version unfortunately.

[sandboxgamer]

This was a very well done murder mystery. Lots of suspects and information that keeps you guessing. It's quite tense and the cast is great. A bunch of scene-stealing character actors and the always stellar Benico Del Toro as the lead. The direction from Grant Singer was impressive, especially since this is his first film. He really nailed the look and feel of all those great 1990's mystery thrillers. He's definitely going to be a director to watch in the future. Highly recommend.

[t6p]

I got strong True Detective vibes from this, particularly the score and cinematography. Del Toro was great as expected and I really enjoyed Silverstone's performance as well. Just a really well acted movie all around.

Plot wise I didn't find it to be groundbreaking, but it was certainly well executed and well worth a watch.

[jonmoz]

The movie just drags along, Del Toro is very good as usual, but there just needed to be more to this, the whole movie is begging for a twist, that never emerges, and is purposefully all over the place to add mystery. A movie that's worth a watch, especially if you are a Del Toro fan, but you could equally miss it.

3/5 from me, I was just expecting so much more.

[drb999]

Is this movie a slow burn? I’m asking because I do want to see it but others living with me may not want to if it’s slow paced.

[Film Effect Ed]

Originally Posted by drb999

Is this movie a slow burn? I’m asking because I do want to see it but others living with me may not want to if it’s slow paced.

Yes, it is. But in a GOOD way. Loved this.

[drb999]

Well, I’ll see how it goes over wy my family members. My sister gets frustrated with slow burn films.

[thenexus6]

I like slow burns but in general films are Netflix are always too long without any real purpose. It's on my list but not sure I will watch it for a while.

[russweiss1]

This was very well made and enjoyable. Good performances all around and lots of red herrings in the first half to keep you guessing. Del Toro is a gifted actor.

[Underworld54]

This was just a huge ball of meh.

[mjvmovieman]

I thought it was great. Benicio is awesome.

[fredman]

Overall, I enjoyed this. But...

[Show spoiler]1. At the beginning Benicio's detective has a hand wound that was 'a kitchen accident' - that is of no consequence other than to mislead viewers.
2. The side plot of the contractor who is going after Benicio's wife (Alicia Silverstone) also goes nowhere (after Benicio scares the shit out of him by threatening his life).

Other than those bits, I found it quite good. 3.66/5 stars.

[BloodshotUSA]

The movie was entertaining but was a complete mess. Story was bloated and had plot points that could have easily been cut from the film i.e-the weirdo couple that Timberlake shows the house too, the painted church, the contractor subplot.

The movie introduces so many plot points that don't get elaborated on or don't lead to anything that it started to confusing just what was actually going on. Movie was carried by the performances of Benicio and Alicia Silverstone. Without them, not only is the movie a mess but its not even watchable. An awful performance by Justin Timberlake, who by the 3rd act its like the filmmakers forgot he was even in the movie. Should have had Michael Pitt play his role.

I feel like by the time the credits role the movie thinks its solved the mystery for viewers but it just leaves more questions that the movie seemingly forgets about.

[Show spoiler]Did Timberlake actually commit the murder? You see him smiling over the body in a flashback but you never see him do it.

Why is Allen, Benicio's boss and Alicia Silverstone's uncle, trying to warn Benicio to run at the end? Allen's already shown that he's involved? Why is he freaking out over Benicio handing over the hard drive to someone else who wound up being involved in the scheme anyway?

What happened with Benicio in Philly?

How does Benicio's wife know so much about crime/murder? Was she an ex-cop? Also, what was the deal with Benicio's hand at the beginning?

What so much emphasis on the bite marks? They ultimately led nowhere.

What about the suspect with a limp? (this might've been Allen since he tells Benicio he has MS and he is struggling to walk later in the movie).

How was the ex-husband involved? If he wasn't involved, and the cops planted the heroin in his apartment, then why did he take Benicio's partners gun and start shooting?

What other cops are involved? You've got Benicio and the "us vs them" moment with all the cops at the poker table and none of them are revealed as being involved. Accept for Allen and Wally, who we know where already involved. Benicio takes out the 2 cops in the shootout at the end and that's that apparently.

Is Timberlake's mom involved?

When the guy busts into Michael Pitts apartment and Timberlake says "I believe you two know each other". Who was it and how did they know each other? Presumably Michael Pitt got killed off at this point and apparently no one is even aware of it because he never gets mentioned in the story.

What the hell was the actual conspiracy all about? Wally, Allen etc are planting heroin in houses to make busts so the houses foreclose and then Timberlake can buy them at a low rate and sell them for a giant profit? So Timberlake's girlfriend/finance finds out and she gets killed by?

Movie is a 6/10. Barely. Movie wanted to be Prisoners or True Detective so badly and came up way short. Only carried by some great actor's who don't phone in this mess of a script.

[plissken99]

Late to the party but I just got around to watching it. Definitely a slow burn, took three tries to stay awake through it(I work too much), but well worth once I did. Excellent performances all around, actually keeps you guessing and has real tension. One of the best Netflix movies I’ve seen.

[Michael11]

A whole bunch of nothing.

If you're going to put a twist in a movie, then make us care about those characters first otherwise it has no impact.

Playing a sad song at the end to make us think something meaningful just happened was the icing on the cake.

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by Michael11

A whole bunch of nothing.

If you're going to put a twist in a movie, then make us care about those characters first otherwise it has no impact.

Playing a sad song at the end to make us think something meaningful just happened was the icing on the cake.

Yeah - I thought this had potential but didnt quite work. I like everyone that was in it but the writing left a lot to be desired.