“Reptile” is a neo-noir crime drama that stars Benicio del Toro as a hardened detective attempting to uncover the truth in the case of a brutal murder of a young realtor. While I really love a good detective story for the onion layers the audience has to peel back, this particular film is one that starts strong, is fairly riveting throughout but begins to falter through its third act.
I found that a few of the big twists were revealed a bit too early that by the time the full mystery was uncovered, I was left not really caring and sort of shrugging in resigned acceptance. And yes, I understand that my next critique will seem a bit contradictory because while the remaining onion layers were peeled back a little too quick, the movie as a whole – like some reptiles – slowly slithered its way through the plot…to the point where I didn’t really want to pause for bathroom breaks or snack refills for fear of adding unnecessary length to pointless scenes.
The main bright spot in this otherwise gloomy drama were the performance of both Benicio del Toro and Alicia Silverstone. Their backs must have been sore following production because their acting and chemistry are elements of the film that carried the movie’s overall watchability. Del Toro’s performance is rather understated and reminiscent of cinematic Hollywood classics such as Humphrey Bogart. And while it’s been some time since I’ve seen Alicia Silverstone in anything notable, her performance as the supportive wife of our protagonist detective seems like a fairly new kind of acting flex for her and she was genuinely fun to watch.
With slightly lowered expectations, there’s a chance you can find some enjoyment out of this otherwise convoluted who-dunnit, but Netflix – the streaming service that houses it – likely has dozens of better options, if that’s the kind of movie you’re wanting to hit play on right now.
