Reptile ★★★½

BENICIO del Toro was made for dark crime thrillers.

He’s got the kind of face, mannerisms and voice delivery perfectly suited to the sub-genre.

Think of his roles in The Usual Suspects, The Way of the Gun, Traffic, Sin City, Savages, Sicario and its sequel and 2021’s No Sudden Move.

The latest example is Reptile, another 2023 release under-rated by the critics, which del Toro also co-wrote with first-time director Grant Singer.

He plays a police detective, Tom Nichols, whose investigation into a woman’s murder eventually leads to a web of corruption that threatens to destroy the lives of Nichols and some of those around him.

While the story does become convoluted and sometimes hard to fully keep track of, it’s also full of quirkiness in characters and moments within scenes that may or may not be important.

The music brings a subtle dread to the proceedings and you’re kept guessing about the final outcome for most of the running time.

Del Toro is excellent as always and receives strong support from the likes of Justin Timberlake, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Pitt and the always welcome presence of Eric Bogosian.