[Movie Review] Prisoners (2013)
Plot Summary: When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: Aaron Guzikowski
Runtime: 146 min
Main Cast:
- Hugh Jackman as Keller Dover
- Jake Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki
- Viola Davis as Nancy Birch
- Maria Bello as Grace Dover
- Terrence Howard as Franklin Birch
Review: by Anthony and Lee
Neither of us knew anything about Prisoners other than it starred Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal; therefore, we had no real expectations.
What We Liked:
The story was a great suspense/thriller. It gave viewers enough clues to begin working out the puzzle, but threw in twists and turns to make them second guess everything. The combination kept the movie interesting all the way through.
Hugh Jackman gave an incredible performance, displaying a vast array of emotions, sometimes in the course of one conversation. He certainly portrayed the passion of the character very well.
Poor Paul Dano is a great actor. Unfortunately, he plays a creepy bad guy all too well. He just looked suspicious.
What We Didn’t Like:
The length of the movie, combined with some particularly long, awkward silences made the movie feel like it dragged on for hours.
Maria Bello’s character, Grace Dover, was completely useless. While we understand that she was portraying a particular reaction to grief that would be very typical of a person in her position, she either did not do it well or the writing was off for her. Something wasn’t right, and we did not care for her.
Summary
Prisoners lived up to its claim as a thriller. It kept us on the edge of our seats, trying to figure out the mystery and wondering what would happen next, and, as the director wished in the letter read at the beginning of the screener, it kept us debating the characters and the ending long after we’d left the theater.
User Review
( votes)You can purchase Prisoners on Blu Ray from Amazon here:
Images Courtesy for IMDB
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- Movie Review: “Prisoners”, a smart thriller that almost outsmarts itself (rogersmovienation.com)
Very hard to get through, but worth the watch if you can stick to it through the end. Good review.