Searching | Teen Ink

Searching

March 9, 2019
By MovieReviewer_18 ELITE, Short Hills, New Jersey
MovieReviewer_18 ELITE, Short Hills, New Jersey
678 articles 0 photos 8 comments

 Searching is a dramatic thriller revolving around the disappearance of a father's daughter. The daughter, Margot Kim, seems to be just an ordinary kid in high school just trying to do her best and get into a good college. Although she has been trying to downplay it, it doesn't change the fact that she is still scarred by the fact that she lost her mother to cancer only two years ago. Because of this, her behavior and personality have been changed slightly, and her father has been trying his best to take care of both himself and his daughter in place of his wife's death. However, while at a study group for biology, Margot tells her dad that things may go late. Even though she eventually calls her dad multiple times during the middle of the night, she never comes home and isn't seen for the next few days, leading her dad to report a missing person case. The immediate police investigation that follows leads to nothing, so her dad tries his best to find out information by looking through Margot's computer. As he attempts to search through all of Margot's information in an attempt to find clues, while reassuring himself that he truly did know his daughter, he begins to realize that he may not know his daughter quite as well as he thinks. 
 Searching proves to be a suspenseful adventure that knows how to keep the adrenaline pumping. It's unpredictable, exciting, unorthodox, and knows how to surprise. The beginning of the movie brilliantly jumpstarts the entire movie, and because the first few scenes start out by taking place through a computer screen, it helps to solidify how the movie mostly takes place through a computer screen. The middle of the movie does a marvelous job of progressing things along and making the mystery behind the disappearance that much more complex with the addition of several different depths and layers as new intriguing information is added. The enticing ending of the movie proves to be exhilarating and is able to conclude the movie wonderfully as all questions are answered in a manner that is sure to please. As a mystery, the movie needs to be able to be erratic and capable of keeping audiences on their toes. The movie is exactly that. There are thrilling twists and turns dispersed throughout the entire movie that are genuinely surprising, and the actual conclusion of the movie is so clever that is impossible to genuinely know what is going to happen next. 

 Searching is actually capable of being so much more than the sum of its parts, because it showcases the true power of technology in a manner that will definitely appeal to teenagers, especially considering that it is a high schooler who ends up getting kidnapped. The movie is able to demonstrate the dangers of social media and technology, but more importantly, it shows how lost parents feel in the society that teenagers create. As much as parents may think they understand, the movie is able to elucidate how much they really don't. 

 Searching has a genius idea fueling it, because the movie takes place through a screen and not the usual kind. This causes there to be more of a responsibility on the actions of the cast, so, luckily for the movie, the cast is able to shine. John Cho in particular is able to do a splendid job of portraying the father of Margot, and his role is crucial to the actual outcome of the movie, since he is the person doing most of the work of discovering his daughter's untold secrets. 

 Not only is Searching enjoyed by viewers, but critics also found a great deal of satisfaction with the movie. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie an outstanding 92%, which is just such an impressive mark, and IMDb gave the movie an exceptional 7.7/10, which is much better than it seems. A whopping 93% of Google users liked the movie, demonstrating that a wide variety of audiences were able to find contentment with the film. 

 Searching is a movie that takes advantage of the unexpected and will surely shock audiences with its riveting plot and its incredibly awesome to watch concepts that are sure to surpass any and all expectations. This is one to search for. 


The author's comments:

"I know my daughter." - David Kim/Margot's father


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