Reptile, the debut film by Grant Singer (who’s known for directing music videos), has become Netflix’s most streamed film. This accomplishment can only be for the amazing performance of the star-studded cast including Justin Timberlake, Alicia Silverstone, Domenick Lombardozzi, and the captivating performance of lead star Benicio Del Toro. Otherwise, the film is “ehh” at best.
A quick synopsis: Will Grady (Justin Timberlake) is a Scarborough real estate mogul dating a realtor agent named Summer Elswick (Matilda Lutz). One day, Grady finds Elswick brutally murdered in one of the homes they were showing. Detective Tom Nichols (Del Toro) and his partner Dan Cleary (Ato Essendoh) take the case and then it begins. Nichols suspects Grady at the beginning and the rest of the movie is just false leads and a whole lot of unnecessary twists and turns just to find out it is in fact Grady. Of course, part of these twists and turns include learning of Summer’s secrets, corrupt police officers and inside jobs (surprise, surprise). Sex, drugs, and money in that order. Honestly, the movie was predictable the whole way through. You could predict that Grady was the killer at the beginning, his accomplices and motive in the middle, and the ending at least 30 minutes before it ended.
However, despite Reptile’s cliché story and boring plot, Del Toro’s gripping portrayal of Detective Nichols makes Reptile worth the watch if you want to see acting excellence. He carried the movie the entire way through. The supporting stars in the movie also did an amazing job portraying characters that would’ve been negligible otherwise. Cinematographer Michael Gioulakis (who has worked with notable directors such as Jordan Peele and M. Night Shyamalan) also deserves praise for his work in Reptile. It can only be for these reasons that Reptile climbed to the top of Netflix’s most streamed movies in my opinion. I would recommend at least trying to watch it to see for yourself.
By: McKenna Fuller mckennajefuller@gmail.com
