Did someone say Denzel Washington? That’s usually all you need to get someone to tune into a movie.

“The Little Things,” released in 2021 and available on many streaming platforms, is a suspenseful crime thriller that feels like a movie which hasn’t been done in a while. With star-studded cast of Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto, the film was written and directed by John Lee Hancock of such films as “The Blind Side” and “Saving Mr. Banks.”

It’s centered around a Kern County deputy who is sent to Los Angeles for evidence gathering but comes across a case involving a serial killer who matches a resemblance to a cold case from the deputy’s past. Washington plays the old savvy detective turned deputy who is helping the new, hot-shot detective portrayed by Malek.

The movie is centered on the trials and errors that come with police work to track down a killer in a world where the law can get in the way of one’s own moral code. Leto portrays a strange man who seems to check all the boxes of the usual suspects, but the only missing is the evidence. It feels accurate, with real-life profiling of actual suspects that shows the issue with many police-related movies.

This movie does a job of pulling you in more and more, but the overall issue seems to be the ending that leaves you feeling like you missed out on something. It has all it needs to be a good movie, but it lacks that satisfying ending that it truly needs to feel like it’s worth the two hours and eight-minute runtime. Due to the big cast and well-known director, you just expect more than what you get in the end. Washington does prove he can look good in any movie he is cast in, but it doesn’t mean he can save the movie itself. This movie gets a 3.5 out of 5 stars.