Prisoners (2013)

Prisoners is a spellbinding, sensationally effective thriller with a complex moral center, powered by career-best performances from Jackman and Gyllenhaal and a rich script. Villeneuve flawlessly catches the moods and mores of small-town America in his English-language debut.

Prisoners is a captivating and relentless thriller that grabs you and refuses to let go, keeping the tightly constructed terror twisting. Jackman is unforgettable as the anguished father whose certainty never wavers.

The critic hails a simmering pressure cooker of a thriller that is unforgiving but emotionally rewarding, sustained by powerhouse performances, taut scripting and Villeneuve’s tonally assured direction.

The critic praises the film's ability to balance nightmare and naturalism in its depiction of ordinary people pushed to extremes by a child's abduction. Villeneuve and the cast are singled out for creating a compelling, expressionist thriller that explores moral compromises without losing its grip.

Villeneuve's deeply haunting thriller pushes Hugh Jackman to the limit as a father driven to vigilante torture after his daughter is kidnapped, creating unbearable tension. The violence and moral complexity make it difficult to watch, though the plot strains credibility toward the end.

Prisoners is a sombrely impressive thriller that digs into dark American paranoia and aggression with a charged sense of how the world works. Villeneuve handles volatile scenes without exaggeration, making the violence feel genuinely horrifying rather than fun.

This gritty, suspenseful thriller about a father's vengeance after his daughter's abduction delivers a harrowing moral dilemma far more believably than similar films like Taken. Strong performances from Jackman and Gyllenhaal make it unmissable.

The critic praises the smartly structured, solidly performed thriller with intertwining races against time and a political undercurrent, noting it keeps tension and grimness unrelenting despite some clichés.

Prisoners is a satisfying whodunit with artfully deposited clues and twists, absorbing attention with assurance as both a thriller and a moody drama. Gyllenhaal anchors the film with his portrayal of the cool, careful detective.

The critic describes a grim thriller about child abduction that leaks dread throughout, with harrowing torture scenes that make one wince and comparisons to Mystic River and Zodiac.

Finds the film works as a sure-fire thriller with a knot in the stomach and strong direction and acting, but criticizes it as ultimately a dumb genre picture with pulpy red herrings and undisturbing torture scenes. Singles out the dirge-like pacing and nuanced performances by Viola Davis and Melissa Leo.

The critic calls it a grim, Oscar-tipped thriller with stunning visuals and plenty of twists, but ultimately a whodunnit too classy to ignore yet too crude to respect.

Calls it the year’s most immaculate-looking drivel, a formulaic whodunit abundant in red herrings and lacking moral contemplation despite exquisite visuals and tension. Singles out the heavy-handed symbology and shallow treatment of vigilante justice.

The film has effective aspects but is mostly ridiculous and features overwrought acting that undercuts its serious ambitions. Gyllenhaal's subtle performance as Detective Loki stands out amid the excesses.

Denis Villeneuve's impressive US debut is a potent dramatic thriller mixing suspense, emotion and intrigue with intense lead performances. It builds tension organically through character relationships and a foreboding mood, though some twists feel gratuitous.

The film is a powerful child-abduction thriller that contrasts a desperate vigilante parent with a dogged detective, building dread through bleak visuals and moral dilemmas. It excels in performances and atmosphere but becomes over-egged in the final act with excessive misery and less subtlety than similar films.

A chilling atmosphere and big ideas compensate for a lack of credibility in this child-abduction thriller. Atmospheric cinematography lends doomy portent to the twisty plot, though holes in the narrative stretch credibility.

Praises the riveting, superbly crafted thriller as a smashingly effective melodrama that tightens its vise with twists and strong performances. Singles out Roger Deakins' visual eloquence in capturing the rainy atmosphere.

Prisoners may have a trace of schlock in its DNA, but it haunts the viewer after watching. It succeeds in sustaining tension over 153 minutes with a committed cast and artful direction amid sleeting rain and run-down buildings.

Denis Villeneuve’s dense thriller navigates blurred moral lines and accusatory questions about the lengths one would go to save a missing child, leaving audiences with plenty to argue about.

The critic praises the film's intense performances, especially Jackman's, and Villeneuve's taut direction in this dark thriller about a father's desperate search for his missing daughter, noting it provokes strong reactions.

The review calls it a tight, unnerving thriller that subverts expectations of the genre while asking hard questions about violence and consequences. It singles out the strong performances and direction for making the nearly two-and-a-half-hour runtime feel brisk despite some conventional Hollywood elements in the final act.

The critic describes it as a brutal, exhausting plunge into the moral abyss and one of the bleakest studio films since Seven. Jackman's intense lead performance and Deakins' grey, rain-drenched visuals are highlighted as key to its tense, compelling atmosphere.

The critic commends the film's gripping narrative and intelligent script that explores moral dilemmas, highlighting strong performances by Jackman and Gyllenhaal and Deakins' cinematography, while noting minor plot issues.

The film is a moderately compelling mystery and thoughtful drama that excels at the expected rather than transcending it, supported by striking cinematography and strong performances, especially from Hugh Jackman.

The critic finds the film well-acted with strong performances from Jackman and Gyllenhaal and effective direction in depicting emotional fallout and moral ambiguity, but faults its reliance on conventional thriller elements, monologuing villains, and improbable red herrings that undermine the character work.

Praises Villeneuve's masterful direction and the film's emotional intensity and suspense, singling out the bold ending and performances, particularly Gyllenhaal's.