So…. are we talking about reptile brains? Is that why it’s called Reptile… or is it just Benicio Del Toro’s stoic, reptilian glare? Or does it refer to the coldness of the murder? Hmmm. Maybe just the shed snake skin? How ponderous.

Whatever the root, Reptile is a dour murder mystery starring Del Toro as a detective investigating the murder of a real estate magnate. Justin Timberlake may or may not bring sexyback as the dead woman’s husband and Alicia Silverstone pops up as if to say hi.

Despite an almost perpetual lack of personality or humor, I was pretty engaged with this mystery for the first half of the movie. It helped that I was following the case, the clues, and the suspects. But the second half of the film kind of lost me. It felt like the story just kept plodding along with heavy frown lines as we circled the drain, not finding the plot.

But the big reveals at the end are alright and the final showdown is suspenseful. I can’t say I loved everything about it, but I felt the pot boil and stir and that was good enough.

I also rather liked how the job of being a cop felt like a job. Del Toro’s just trying his best to get people to talk to him. And when there’s a shooting, I appreciated how seriously they treated the fallout, both on a personal and professional level.

Not my favorite film but I respect Del Toro’s glare of doom and the overall mystery was solid (when I wasn’t lost in the weeds). It’s a good enough film.

Score: 75