To me, this movie is perfection.

How sad is this?

Don't listen to the negative reviews

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Originally planning to watch the quirky Bollywood movie Finding Fanny, (what a title!)I was disappointed to discover that the DVD was faulty.With there only being a few days to go until a poll being held on IMDb for the best films of 2014 was to end,I franticly starting taking a look at a small pile of 2014 titles that a family friend had recently passed over.With having enjoyed the 2008 Aussie Noir film The Square,I was delighted to spot a fresh cut of Aussie Noir which appeared to be really over looked,which led to me getting ready to discover who you can reckon on.The plot:Called out along with Detective Jane Lambert to a crime scene, Detective Robbie Green discovers that the victim is his former partner Jason Pearson.Keeping hold of the vodka that he's secretly drinking,Green opens Pearson's car door,and starts to investigate the remains of the deadly hit and run.Carefully checking Pearson's blood-soaked body,Green discovers that a memory card has been left in a pocket.Going back to the police station,Green and Lambert discover that the memory card contains a documentary movie being made by Rachel (who is dying from cancer) and her newly-married husband A.J.Watching the start of the doc,Green and Lambert find out that Rachel's sister was killed in a hit and run,which has led to Rachel deciding that she will use her final breath to get revenge on the people who killed her sister.As Green & Lambert set off to stop Rachel and A.J. on their road of revenge,Green soon finds out that he is unknowingly about to face his day of reckoning.View on the film:Whilst the "Found Footage" sub-genre has mostly become connected with Horror titles,writer/director John V. Soto uses the format here to cross Film Noir over with the Revenge genre,that allows for Soto and cinematographer Jason Thomas to give the movie 2 contrasting appearance.Backed by somber score from Thomas Rouch,Thomas and Soto use glass to subtly show Green being unable to see the demons reflected at him,and to also show Green and Lambert looking out to the murky shadows of the past.Keeping the "Found Footage" limited to featuring Rachel & A.J.,Soto and Thomas use the couples documentary to give the movie a rawness that gradually consumes the title,with the couples revenge attacks pulling everyone into a decaying gutter.Although the structure of the title does feature some noticeable flaws, (if the documentary was the only clue that you had,why would you not watch the full movie before you went back out to continue the investigation!) the screenplay by Soto makes the flaws ones that are easy to overlook,due to Soto uncovering the past piece by piece which has led to Green (played by an excellent,worn down Jonathan LaPaglia) becoming a burnt to a crisp cop,who finds himself stuck on a Film Noir road to pain.Keeping away from showing Rachel and A.J. as 2 dumb teens on a killing spree,Soto digs deep into the events which have led to Rachel's desire for revenge,which leads to a wonderfully bleak final note,as everyone faces their day of reckoning.

The Reckoning is a must see for crime thriller lovers . With a well structured story line with dark twists and turns, gut wrenching performances and crisp cinematography, Soto has proved himself in his talent for crafting genre films. The notable performances of rising actors Lawrence and Williams proved strong in their portrayal of obsessive troubled teens with their quest for vengeance.With successful use of found footage and the crime genre, interesting cinematic layers have been used to create a dark yet thrilling take on city crime. The visual elements have been prominently complimented by a prodigious soundtrack. Overall a great and enjoyable Australian film with complex dimension and texture.

I was a little cautious about John Soto's new film The Reckoning. I think the 'found footage' genre is over saturated. However, The Reckoning doesn't quite play out that way, in fact it's an intriguing mix of found footage and the police procedural. I feel that there is enough of a twist on the genres that it actually becomes quite engaging.The story develops nicely, and the two arcs of characters are molded together well. I think that Hanna Mangan Lawrence and Alex Williams, playing the two runaway teens, really shone in this film. That's not to say Jonathan LaPaglia and Viva Bianca were bad, they were good as their roles, but Lawrence and Williams were a driving force in the film.I feel like The Reckoning is a great Aussie film, I took particular joy in seeing Perth on the big screen, and after watching it I really want to see Soto's other films Crush and Needle.

My first review on this site.Although I was able to watch the full movie, I at times, criticized certain points in the movie that are completely unrealistic and very badly acted.Based in Australia, there are numerous major flaws to this movie, numerous things that the Police in America use(Badge) are used in this movie. It makes no sense, and when you notice it, it ruins the rest of the movie for you.On numerous occasions, the plot and acting is completely off, and had me wanting to stop watching the movie.The only reason I watched the whole movie was because I was already half way through, and couldn't be bothered watching another.In short:The movie is a typical, corrupt cop, wife kids, having a secret relationship with the "hot" partner cop, has a friend who is on the wrong side of the law, they somehow get into a situation where the cop has killed someone. For some weird reason he gets away with it, the person who he ran over, family member(Sister) and coincidently a guy he "Arrested" a couple years early that is "Mentally ill" go on a killing spree for "Everyone who contributed to her sisters death"(Somehow the plot leads us to a gang of drug dealers), also somewhere in between a girl and a mentally ill guy kills high ranking dangerous drug dealers, without the police catching them.Another spoiler, the big guy with tattoos, his car is left INSIDE A WAREHOUSE!? and the "Police were called" earlier in the day, yet these two main characters are FIRST ON SCENE? IN A WAREHOUSE?.Don't watch it. Waste of time, poor acting, could barely keep watching it. Typical Cop turned bad movie.