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The Reckoning

Play trailer Poster for The Reckoning R 2014 1h 26m Crime Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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50% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A detective tracks two teen runaways with video footage of his partner's murder.

Critics Reviews

View All (6) Critics Reviews
Sandra Hall Sydney Morning Herald The cop-shop scenes generate little vitality and the same goes for Green's working relationship with Viva Bianca, who does a lot of standing around in search of the right expression in the thankless role of his fellow detective. Rated: 2/5 Sep 10, 2014 Full Review Philippa Hawker The Age (Australia) It's a heightened work whose occasional implausibilities are swiftly absorbed by the hectic energy of the storytelling. Rated: 3/5 Sep 3, 2014 Full Review Lee Zachariah Concrete Playground It is out of time, decades too late to be of any interest, and so desperate to cover up its country of origin that its edges are sanded down into something that is ultimately of zero consequence. Sep 9, 2014 Full Review Jim Schembri 3AW This noble stab at a gritty crime drama by West Australian writer director John V Soto (Crush; Needle) is a real hit-and-miss affair that offers little more than a forgettable, pedestrian time killer. Rated: 2/5 Sep 7, 2014 Full Review Urban Cinefile Critics Urban Cinefile What I like most about John V. Soto's engaging police procedural cum thriller is that we get more than we bargained for. Aug 25, 2014 Full Review Erin Free FILMINK (Australia) Stylishly and crisply shot by Jason Thomas -- who reimagines Perth as a bleak, nighttime world of blurry lights and rolling freeways -- The Reckoning unfolds slowly but with great control. Aug 15, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (9) audience reviews
Audience Member The style it is shot in does not work for every plot but it worked for this one. You might not think this would captivate but it somehow manages to do so for most of it's duration. Ehhh, I really don't think this guy having a sex scene with his wife whom we've hardly seen up until that point where we now see all of her was all that necessary, not a very auspicious decision for inclusion... kinda screwed the entire movie. It's finishing in under 90 minutes likely saved it from a lower rating. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Police Corruption Catches Up With A Burnt Out Cop As Some Kids Investigate An Unsolve Hit-Run.The Small Twists In The Story Keep It Vaguely Interesting, But The Weak & Mediocre Acting By The Vast Majority Of Cast Members Kill The Vibe...Keeping This A Tame Aussie Crime Thriller. If You Wanna See Jon Lapaglia In Something Good; Get 'Underbelly - Badness'...He Does Alright Here, But As I Said, Is Let Down By Other Cast Members. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Okay, this film experienced an identity crisis; it was trying to be an original police drama but it ended up becoming an extended episode for a cliched, boring police procedural. The plot, while clever, wasn't utilised to its potential and was instead consumed by numerous plot holes and one-dimensional characters; i.e. the married policeman with alcoholism who is believed to be romantically involved with his partner. From a technical aspect, the lighting was awful. Exterior shots were over-exposed and interior shots were under-exposed, to make matters worse it attempted to appear slick by using a steel blue colour palette reminiscent of Underworld. Put simply, this felt like a cheesy, television movie made for Channel 7. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member wha??? This was rubbish. Don't waste your money or more importantly your time. The dialogue could have been done better by Year 8 students from Chinchilla. The characters were essentially angsty mouth breathers who stumbled from one train wreck of a scene to the next following a ridiculous plot that only a twit tween could get into. I got this movie out from my local DVD store on the basis of the audience score being 94%. what a joke. I sense it's been high scored by idle welfare recipients all gaga about it being filmed in Perth, and having a few famous actors' kids in it. This movie highlights so well that Australia cannot do original engaging dialogue. Australia has no Tarantinos, but it has a lot of idiots prepared to fiance crap movies. I honestly have to wonder whether Anthony LaPaglia financed this, just to keep his dill brother in work. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Excellent acting and gripping story. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review mirza m This Australian crime-mystery-thriller flick stars the siblings of some well known celebrities; Jonathan LaPaglia (kid brother of Anthony LaPaglia from the Happy Feet movies & Without A Trace) and Luke Hemsworth (big brother to Chris and Liam Hemsworth). Here, LaPaglia plays Robbie Green; a detective investigating the roadside murder of his ex-partner Jason Pearson (Hemsworth). He finds an SD card, at the scene of the crime, that contains video shot by two runaway teens; Rachel (Lawrence) and AJ (Williams). The teens were making a documentary, on the hit-and-run death of Rachel's sister, and the video could contain information leading to Pearson's killer. With the help of Detective Jane Lambert (Bianca), Green investigates the crime and finds some pretty shocking and gruesome imagery, on the video, in the process. The film starts off a bit slow but then picks up pace and certainly has its own set of suspenseful moments. The story has been developed quite nicely as a result the two arcs of characters are molded together very well. With the successful use of found footage and the crime genre, the makers have created a dark yet thrilling take on city crime. The visual elements have been prominently complimented by an excellent soundtrack. Well this is not a found footage film per se, but uses the style to clever use to keep our Detectives on the hunt and guessing, as does the viewer. My only complain would be, well I did guess the twist of the final act, which may or may not be a let down for everyone. The acting is all pretty decent, I think Hanna Mangan Lawrence and Alex Williams, playing the two runaway troubled teens with their quest for vengeance, really shone in this film. That's not to say Jonathan LaPaglia and Viva Bianca were bad, they were good as their roles! While Luke Hemsoworth is wasted. On the whole The Reckoning is an intriguing mix of found footage and the police procedural, with a well structured story line with dark twists and turns, gut wrenching performances and crisp cinematography to keep you well engaged! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Reckoning

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Cast & Crew

Wild Horses 17% 16% Wild Horses Watchlist The Bag Man 11% 22% The Bag Man Watchlist Every Secret Thing 32% 32% Every Secret Thing Watchlist McCanick 13% 15% McCanick Watchlist Exposed 8% 16% Exposed Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A detective tracks two teen runaways with video footage of his partner's murder.
Director
John V. Soto
Producer
Deidre Kitcher, John V. Soto
Screenwriter
John V. Soto
Rating
R (Some Violence|Language|Brief Sexuality)
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 7, 2019
Runtime
1h 26m