Justin Timberlake’s Mediocre Acting Derails ‘Reptile’

A few weeks ago, I had reviewed Grant Singer’s “Reptile” at TIFF. It’s currently playing, in very limited fashion, in New York and L.A. theaters. A streaming launch on Netflix is set for this Friday.

For 70% of Grant Singer’s “Reptile,” which stars Benicio del Toro, I was invested, but then it gets bogged down by an irritating plot twist. A real shame since the film had real potential.

“Reptile” stars del Toro (predictably great) as a New England detective who works to solve the murder of a real estate agent. Justin Timberlake stars as the dead girl’s suspected husband and Alicia Silverstone plays del Toro’s wife.

I actually don’t mind Singer ripping off Fincher’s dark thrillers in “Reptile.” There’s no question he does, right down to the yellow-hued cinematography. Some are pointing to it being more of a Villeneuve copycat, but didn’t Villeneuve basically rip off Fincher in “Prisoners”?

Regardless, for a while, I was highly engrossed by Singer’s detective thriller, but, as the dramatic stakes kept getting upped, its 134-minute runtime got way too convoluted. It tried to be too clever. Timberlake didn’t sell any of his scenes either.

The more I think about this movie, the clearer it becomes that Timberlake was so insanely miscast that his performance ends up derailing the entire story. It’s not like Timberlake is a side character that you can just easily brush off. No, he’s plays a key role here.

I must also mention that I do find that, if placed in the right role, with the right director, Timberlake can be a good actor — I’m thinking, in particular, to his excellent work in “The Social Network” and “Alpha Dog.”

I don’t want to ruin anything for you and, as mentioned, “Reptile” will be streaming on Netflix in a couple of days — but the plot lacks any sort of logic. It’s infuriating to witness, due to the the excellent setup — with strong character, suspense and vibe.