This is the worst movie I’ve seen Denzel Washington in. It’s sad because it showed such promise. With 3 academy award winners at their disposal, it seemed like a shoo-in for success. It has many similarities to Seven. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come close to capturing the magic of the film in any way.

The Little Things doesn’t have the flare of a studio backed project. The scale of the world feels like an independent short, even though the run-time is 2 hours. Rami Malek did not fit the role of a clever detective. His character was too reserved and made some dumb ass decisions. Denzel was convincing as the veteran officer recognized by his peers. However, he didn’t have much to do but sit around and look dramatically out windows.

HBO Max really dropped the ball on this one. If this is the quality of content they’ll be releasing for the same-day-premieres, then the future is looking cloudy at best. The movie had some great dialogue, suspense, and character moments. Still, the build-up of the story did not have a great payoff. I felt robbed of my time after watching this. The Little Things gets a 5.5 out of 10.