Welcome back for another edition of A Second Look with Jeff Stockton! In this segment I will take a "second look" at a past LRF release with a fresh set of eyes.
Over the past several seasons, writer Jimmy Ellis has become one of the most active writers in LRF history, but he was a rookie when he wrote this segment's film: Missing Men. Jimmy Ellis' debut film was a throwback war thriller from director Clint Eastwood starring Casey Affleck, Billy Magnussen, Jared Leto and others. Looking back at my thoughts from that time period, it would appear that I didn't really think much about it at all oddly enough. I didn't even specifically mention it in that round's The Roundup outside of commenting on Ellis being one of the two new writers debuting that round (the other being Grim O'Grady, who would never be seen again). In my review, which was mildly positive, I appreciated the old-school nature of the film and that it didn't try to do too much.
Looking back at Missing Men now, I still appreciate that it doesn't try to make any political or social points, that it is just a throwback war thriller like they used to make back in the day. The performances are all pretty bland - other than Leto, who recognizing how boring the other roles were, probably took that as permission to completely over-act. There are some good action/war moments, but the film isn't really anything special. If you like those older action-war films with stars like Charles Bronson, Chuck Norris, etc. then you'll like it, but if those films aren't your cup of tea you won't.
Original Grade: C+
New Grade: C+
Missing Men link: https://lrfdatabase.weebly.com/missing-men.html
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