One of my all time favorites.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Never has a western been this intense for me, I mean it was more of a horror western then just a western. It has settlers, Indians, fights, all the things that you would expect form a western. But it also has this darkness about it, it combines mysticism with western.The story is good, a single woman living in the wilds of New Mexico has to fend for her two daughters while running a ranch at the same time. Life is tough, the woman is also a doctor. With so much work she has two ranch hands working for her, two men Brake Baldwin and Emiliano. One of the men is becoming a love interest for her, and the two seem very close. One day, the woman's father shows up, much to her disappointment and grief. He claims he has been among the Indians all this time and has become one so to say. This does not go well with the woman who's name is Maggie or (Magdalena) Gilkeson. She basically orders him out of her life and land, and claims he killed her mother by leaving her. Life goes on once her father leaves. One day the two ranch hands decide to go round up stray cattle on the outskirts of the ranch lands taking her two daughters with them for the experience, leaving Maggie all alone to run the place. As the day presses on she expects the return of them. The next day as she is sitting on her porch, Brake's horse shows up, without him, Maggie knowing something is wrong bolts from the ranch and heads out to look for Brake and the others. What she finds is gruesome and violent. And that's where this movie begins.This film reminded me of John Wayne's The Searchers a lot. Though with a female lead. As Maggie's search begins, she enlist the help of her father and as the two begin their journey, a bond between them grows. As I said earlier this movie is creepy as well, the main villain being a "Brujo" or a Witch,a native American man witch, played very creepy and well by Eric Schwieg gives you chills, this movie brings Native American superstition which gives it a chilling blend. When I first saw Eric Schwieg's character he freaked me out. This movie has a lot of action in it, and violence, hence the R rating. Don't be surprised if one scene towards the beginning makes you nauseated. But despite it's creepiness and violence it's a good story, a story about a mother, a tough ranching woman who stops at nothing to rescue her daughters, and to build a relationship with a father she never had. Cate Blanchett does an amazing job as Maggie who does a awesome job at showing just how tough she is. Tommy Lee Jones plays her forgotten father and he does great too. All the cast did an amazing job.I kind of wonder why this movie kind of scored low though? It was great. It had great actors in it, well known actors that is too. I think you will enjoy this, this movie is made by Ron Howard who is a master director. 10/10 for "The Missing"

The first thing I look for in Native films like these is how accurate they are. What I mean by that is how well do the actors portraying as the Native characters come across to the viewer. Ever since 1990's 'Dances with Wolves', Native films have really come a long way in that non-Natives have gotten to know how Natives ARE SUPPOSED TO BE portrayed in films and NOT as savage, ruthless heathens! That kind of ancient mentality has to go! Eric Schweig was awesome in this film. But he's great in any film since he has the natural ability to portray himself as either a hero or a villain. Anyways.. this one earns an 8 out of 10 in my books.

I feel the need to say right off the top that there was a lot about "The Missing" that I actually liked. I thought that Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones were both very good. Blanchett played a mom whose daughter gets kidnapped by Apaches, who've been stealing girls in raids to sell (presumably into prostitution) in Mexico. Jones was her estranged father, who abandoned her when she was a girl and suddenly showed up at her farm all these years later (after having "gone Indian") looking to make amends. Both Jones and Blanchett were believable in their roles. The basic story served to bring forth a feeling of sympathy for these poor girls who've been kidnapped (since we know what their fate is going to be if they're not rescued) and it makes us root for Blanchett and Jones as they set out to rescue them. The climactic confrontation at the end is pretty well done and pretty exciting. All that worked pretty well here. So, what was the problem with this?First was the pacing. It just seemed off. The first 1:45 or so was uneven and probably spent a little too much time (especially near the beginning) telling us that the mom and her estranged father were - well - estranged. I got the point. I wasn't sure, either, about the focus that ended up being put on the "Indian spirituality" (for lack of a better way of describing it) that Jones' character had picked up, basically because, this being Hollywood, I doubted that much of it was authentic anyway. It looked more like an attempt to remind the viewer that - hey - there are Indians in this movie. And, frankly, the movie was a half hour too long. It's true enough that most of the excitement in this was in that last half hour. But most of what happened in that period could (in my opinion anyway) have been integrated into the earlier part of the story, which some of the unnecessary material cut out) and that would have resulted in a decent and more compact (and more focused) movie. As it was, this seemed a little bit all over the lace, and I really think the movie should have simply ended with the rescue of the girls, rather than with the unnecessary last half hour (and, as I said, what happens in the last half hour could have easily been moved earlier, which would have made for a better movie.)As it is, it's a decent movie - and it does keep your attention, because you do want these girls to be rescued. So, it's very watchable in spite of its problems. It's just not great. (5/10)

A well-shot revenge western that has a look of grandeur to it, even if the storyline – a tracker goes after a band of Indians who have kidnapped a relative – is largely familiar. There's something about The Missing that stops it from reaching the same level as films like APPALOOSA or OPEN RANGE, and it may be because of the overly Hollywood stylisation that pops up in places. The film is at its best when it focuses on frontier life and the brutality of the era, but during the flagging mid-section it descends into mumbo-jumbo nonsense with silly nightmare sequences and out-of-place supernatural stuff that date it pretty badly. During these parts I was reminded of an early '90s schlock horror rather than a timeless western.Still, the film does have plenty of reasons to keep you watching. Tommy Lee Jones is an ever-watchable screen presence, although I do feel he was miscast here as the wannabe Indian tracker; something just doesn't sit right with his character and you almost feel like he's playing the same guy out of THE FUGITIVE, just shoehorned into a different era. Cate Blanchett is better, giving her character some warmth and humanity for once, and Evan Rachel Wood does no wrong as the feisty victim. Aaron Eckhart and Val Kilmer are both effective in supporting roles, and the action is decent. Despite Ron Howard's occasional missteps when it comes to the style, his direction is for the most part solid, so the blame would have to be laid on the script which could have done with both some serious tightening to make this a pacier drama and some stronger villains.