The Missing

The combined intensity of these two performances (Jones and Blanchett) obliterates objections and raises the stakes in what might otherwise have been a standard western. more

Has Blanchett and Jones to its credit. To watch them is to take in two of the screen's greatest natural wonders. more

Good movie westerns these days may be too few and far between, but Ron Howard's The Missing is almost a great one. more

Probably the best Western since "Unforgiven." more

As for Blanchett, she's simply wonderful. She has played her share of queenly figures, but her acting essence is, emotionally speaking, plain-Jane. She's a straight shooter, with an uncanny ability to find a character's spine and communicate it without fuss or feathers. more

Ron Howard has delivered a movie that’s a big departure from his previous film, "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas." We may not remember him for "The Alamo," but we're glad he kept the Stetson. more

Ironically, what's lacking in Howard's stark, often brutal, late 19th-century chase drama is emotional punch. more

Just misses being great. The dark shaman mysticism doesn't entirely mesh with the earthbound quest across the wild and glorious Southwest. And the ending, with its shoot-outs and sacrifices, has a choppy, unneccessarily complicated feel. more

This movie will remind a lot of people of John Ford's masterpiece, "The Searchers," without the rowdy humor and, yes, without the greatness. But it's an admirably solid effort that's as mean as it has to be, which is plenty. more

Does not surpass Kevin Costner's "Open Range" for the title of Best Western of 2003, but it's a worthy effort and makes for an enjoyable (if slightly overlong) two-plus hours. more

I find myself shaking my head about the trashing this movie received from some. I am beginning to think many modern viewers have already seen everything on the face of the Earth and can NEVER be impressed anymore by any new movies. This is a very tense and entertaining movie. It held my attention throughout however I am an adult who can pay attention and some viewing the movie probably cannot. It is exceptionally well acted and the cinematography is great. In short, I give a "well done" to Ron Howard and others who made the film more

I am not typically a fan of historical movies, and I saw it only because I was on vacation and it was one of the rentals available. I was blown away! It was an intelligent thriller, with a great story, and lots of tension. By the end of the movie, I was on the edge of my seat, dying to see how it would all play out. I'm stunned at some of the negative reviews posted here. But, if you want the typical Hollywood no-brainer film, then this isn't for you. If you like an intelligent, gripping story, then this one won't disappoint! more

New Mexico has one of the most beautiful and haunting landscapes in the United States. Desert, arroyo, plains, twisted wood and rock formations, and a sky that is like something out of a dream. In The Missing, this landscape shifts constantly, evoking fantastic and surreal images that lend well to the mood of the story. Cate Blanchett stars as Maggie, a tough and independent frontier "healer," who is also a single mother of two girls. Her independence is not enough to save her from the nightmare that erupts when a renegade Apache brujo (sorceror/male witch) kidnaps her teenage daughter... more