--- title: "Prisoners: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/prisoners/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/prisoners" critics_score: 73 critics_reviews: 20 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Prisoners (2013): what the critics said Critics' score 73 from 20 reviews: 14 positive, 5 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics find Prisoners a tense, disturbing thriller, with praise concentrated on Denis Villeneuve’s control of suspense and the performances of Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. Jackman’s desperate father supplies much of the emotional force, while Gyllenhaal’s restrained detective provides a counterweight. Roger Deakins’ grey, rain-soaked cinematography also draws approval for sustaining the dread, and many reviews find substance in the film’s questions about violence and moral compromise. The disagreement is substantial, particularly over whether the plotting supports that seriousness. Even favourable reviews flag implausible twists and an overworked final act; less persuaded critics find the red herrings and grimness difficult to excuse. Slant Magazine argues that the treatment of vigilante justice is shallow despite the visual craft and tension. RogerEbert.com is more broadly dismissive of the story and heightened acting, though it singles out Gyllenhaal for praise. ## Variety — Scott Foundas Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 August 2013. Festival review. 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. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/prisoners-review-telluride-1200593140/) ## Los Angeles Times — Betsy Sharkey Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 19 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-prisoners-movie-review-20130920-story.html) ## Total Film — Emma Dibdin Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 24 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/prisoners-review/) ## Film Comment — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 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. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/review-prisoners-jake-gyllenhaal-hugh-jackman-paul-dano/) ## Radio Times — Stella Papamichael Rating 4/5. 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. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-zvk9mw/prisoners/) ## The New Yorker — David Denby Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/23/search-missions) ## Time Out — Ishbel Beeson Rating 4/5. 23 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/prisoners) ## Empire — Dan Jolin Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 27 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/prisoners-review/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 19 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/movies/prisoners-stars-hugh-jackman-and-jake-gyllenhaal.html) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 26 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/film-review-prisoners-harrowing-scenes-will-make-you-wince-8842460.html) ## Vulture — David Edelstein Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2013/09/movie-review-prisoners.html) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/prisoners-film-review-8843565.html) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Rating 2/4. 15 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/prisoners/) ## RogerEbert.com — Sheila O'Malley Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/prisoners-2013) ## Screen Daily 5 September 2013. Festival review. 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. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/prisoners/5059994.article) ## Sight and Sound — Kate Stables 26 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/prisoners) ## The Guardian 29 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/29/prisoners-hugh-jackman-gyllenhaal-review) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Stephen Farber 30 August 2013. Festival review. 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. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/prisoners-telluride-review-618578/) ## The Telegraph 6 October 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10357022/Prisoners-review.html) ## The Times — Wendy Ide 27 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/prisoners-0fb07n39qfh) ## HeyUGuys — Lisa Giles-Keddie Rating 5/5. 25 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/prisoners-review/) ## Den of Geek — Mike Cecchini Rating 4/5. 19 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/prisoners-review/) ## Digital Spy — Simon Reynolds Rating 4/5. 23 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a517473/prisoners-review-hugh-jackman-jake-gyllenhaal-plunge-into-darkness/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/prisoners-2013-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B-. 19 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://collider.com/prisoners-movie-review/) ## The Wrap — Todd Gilchrist Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 13 September 2013. 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. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/prisoners-review/) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating B+/A-. 20 September 2013. Festival review. Praises Villeneuve's masterful direction and the film's emotional intensity and suspense, singling out the bold ending and performances, particularly Gyllenhaal's. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-prisoners-starring-hugh-jackman-jake-gyllenhaal-paul-dano-terrence-howard-more-20130920/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/prisoners.md