Sometimes I still have hard time realizing that Opie from “The Andy Griffith Show” has grown up to become a world class film director. Neither his simple life in Mayberry or later living as an average teenage boy in the 1950s (changing his name to Richie Cunningham) seem like the kinds of places where the seeds of great filmmaking are sown. But somehow he shed the past like an old raincoat, changed his name (once again) to Ron Howard, and has turned out qite the handful of good films. This is not to say he has had a perfect filmmaking career. He’s has some sure-fire winners like “Splash” and “Apollo 13”, but then there have been misfires like the dreadful “Grinch.” And in between he’s had several good, just not great, films. “The Missing” is one of those that fall in that in-between area. In “The Missing”, Cate Blanchett is a pioneer woman, living out on a New Mexico farm with her two children (Evan Rachel Wood and Jenna Boyd) and a hired hand (Arron Eckhart).

She is estranged from her father (Tommy Lee Jones), who left years earlier to pursue a life amongst the apaches. Her life is hard enough, but it becomes even more difficult when her oldest daughter is kidnapped by Indians to be sold into slavery in Mexico. She must put aside her feelings of anger towards her father so that they may, together, find and rescue her daughter.

When I first saw the trailer for “The Missing”, I actually got kind of excited. I like most of Howard’s films, and the trailer made it seem like this one was going to be some kind of supernatural western. Well it turned out to be a western, but there was very little in the way of supernatural elements to the story. Some, but not many. This was a bit of a disappointment, but it did not necessarily ruin the film for me.

“The Missing” is actually a fairly straight forward thriller, with the wonder of whether or not they will save the daughter firmly rooted in suspense for most of the film’s 147 minute running time. Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones deliver exceptional performances, and even Evan Rachel Wood, whom I considered to be a one shot wonder in “Thirteen” proves she has the acting chops to make for a solid career.

Where I had a problem with the film however, was that it felt like it ran a bit too long. There are a number of sub-plots, most of which were interesting, but were not explored to their full potential. They needed to be either cut out completely, or lengthened to give them more dramatic impact. Of course, this would have made it a longer movie, but we all know that is not a problem as long as the story is well-fleshed out.

I was surprised to see that the DVD came with 2 discs. The film did not fair well in theatres, so I wasn’t sure why Sony / Columbia Tristar would go to such great lengths to deliver a full-packaged set. But, fully-packaged it is. The 1st disc doesn’t really have any extras, but I do need to mention that it does include trailers for the upcoming “Hellboy” and ‘Spider-Man 2.” Did I cheer? You bet!

The 2nd disc makes the DVD more than worth owning, or at least taking a look at. There are tons of deleted scenes and outtakes from “The Missing”, as well as several behind the scenes featurettes. I especially enjoyed the outtakes just because I just like seeing the seeing the big star screw up. And there are a few pretty funny screw ups on this reel.

But what really sold me on the set was the interview with Ron Howard. It’s broken up into specific segments, where he talks about John Wayne, his love for westerns, the filmmaking process, and more. He has a charm that is infectious, and listening to him talk about all of these subjects with such enthusiasm really makes you like the guy. Of these bits of interviews, the best focused on his early years as a filmmaker. And I mean early years. He talks about some of the movies he made as a teenager, and we get to see bits and pieces of them along with behind the scenes footage. Even at such a young age you could tell Howard had a knack for camera angles and editing. It was also kind of cool seeing Rance (his father) and Clint (his brother) in those films, just like you usually do today.

“The Missing” is another really impressive piece of work by Howard. The cinematography is beautiful, and the story is compelling. I just wish I could say it was great, and not just good.

Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, Evan Rachel Wood, Jenna Boyd, Eric Schweig, Aaron Eckhart
Extras: The Short Films of Ron Howard, Three Alternate Endings, 11 Deleted Scenes, 11 Behind the Scenes Featurettes
Specifications: Widescreen (2.40:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 2/24/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (Violence)
Website

We'll give The Missing a C+.