The Little Things (Movie Review)

Warner Bros. continues to make good on its promise to release all its tentpoles for the next year simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. And while we all await the impending release of Godzilla vs Kong in March, the first movie to be coming out off its highly-publicized slate is The Little Things, a crime thriller starring Denzel Washington. Written and directed by John Lee Hancock, the film offers a throwback mystery that might prove to be more style than substance for most.

Set in the 1990s, Denzel Washington plays Joe Deacon, a Kern County Deputy Sheriff who is sent back to his former LA district to retrieve some evidence that would help with an ongoing case. And while he is there, he comes across a hotshot detective named Jim Baxter (Rami Malek), who is currently working a case with a serial killer that has an MO quite similar to an unsolved murder case Deacon had worked on in the past. 

Both men immediately appear to have a shared respect and disdain for one another, with each one trying to one-up the other. But with more victims turning up dead by the day, and a prime suspect (played by Jared Leto) that always seems to be one step ahead of the authorities, they must learn to put aside their differences and work together if they hope on closing the case once and for all.

The Little Things is one of those films that sounds great on paper, but falls flat in its execution. It had all the intrigue and mystery you'd expect to find in a crime thriller, but none of the payoff or satisfaction offered by the better films in the genre. This is not to say that the film offers no thrills at all, as I was at the very least mildly engaged while following along.

It was just that the whole thing somehow managed to lose most of its steam by the time it arrived at its third act, where in an attempt to circumvent expectations, it presented a twist that most viewers would find head-scratching to say the least. There were no gaping plot holes to speak of, just a feeling that you've arrived at a destination that wasn't all that meaningful in the grand scheme of things.

What The Little Things does offer is a somewhat promising start to the packed slate of movies Warner Bros. plans on releasing this year. But while it definitely benefitted from its strong cast and a solid overall atmosphere, those elements were ultimately letdown by a story that was by the numbers, and a resolution that was unsatisfying. The movie is hardly worth going out to see at the cinema, but it is still worth checking out if you happen to have HBO Max.