How far would you go to protect your child?
After his six-year-old daughter is abducted, a desperate father takes justice into his own hands when he loses faith in the detective leading the investigation, setting both men on a collision course as the search descends into obsession and moral compromise.
- Graphic violence
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Character
Grave, contemporary, earnest and overwhelming.
- gravecomic
- contemporarynostalgic
- earnestironic
- cooloverwhelming
- rawmeticulous
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“Is this Denis Villeneuve's best work?”
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“Is Prisoners emotionally manipulative?”
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“Does Jake Gyllenhaal steal Prisoners from Hugh Jackman?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- kisaligolon TMDB · Dec 20224/10
Prisoners is a largely generic revenge / suspense / mystery "they have my kid" tale with a predictable plot that gives itself away too early. No attempt at realism, this is Scooby-Doo style investigation - lie detectors are treated seriously, "bad guys" are largely 1-dimensional with poorly explained motives designed to surprise rather than give insight, etc. It tries to make up for this in a few ways: a) bump up the intensity of scenes (comes across forced and awkward), b) add extra violence and dark semi-religious symbolism (seems out of place and largely meaningless), and most importantly c) maintain an air of mystery by throwing left-field plot points at you every 3-5 minutes to keep your attention. If you carefully note the clues, about half way through the film it strongly indicates the finale. After that the air of mystery that keeps the film feeling suspenseful largely dissolves and you are left with what feels like a AI-generated script desperately trying and failing to throw you off the initial clues. The film's greatest redeeming quality is its attempt to turn some revenge film character archetypes on their head. It is not always successful, but the attempt to break clic
Read the whole review on TMDB - tmdb28039023on TMDB · Sep 20226/10
Prisoners is a carefully constructed labyrinth, deceptively simple and very clever. The material was nothing new even when the film was released, but director Denis Villeneuve (pre-Dune) and screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski work a few unexpected twists and turns into their maze to keep us on our toes. The key element, however, is Hugh Jackman’s career-best performance as Keller Dover, a father whose patience for police work quickly runs thin when Detective Loki (the always effective Jake Gyllenhaal) fails to find Dover’s kidnapped little daughter. It will surprise no one that Dover decides to take the law into his own hands, recruiting Franklin Birch (Terrence Howard), his best friend whose daughter has also gone missing, to kidnap the only suspect – whom the police has ruled out for the moment –, take him to an abandoned house, and beat a confession out of him. This is par for the course in the movies, but is it realistic? Can a father, however desperate he may be, really go from zero to psycho in no time flat? The film makes this transition 50% more believable by making the character a committed survivalist, meaning that he was halfway there all along. And even if we still found it
Read the whole review on TMDB - John Chardon TMDB · Apr 20209/10
Be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. Pray for the best, but prepare for the worst. Prisoners is directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Aaron Guzikowski. It stars Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Terence Howard, Maria Bello, Melissa Leo and Paul Dano. Music is by Jóhann Jóhannsson and cinematography by Roger Deakins. When Keller Dover's (Jackman) daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands... At first glance of the plot synopis, one could be forgiven for thinking this is yet another revenge thriller filled out by police procedural side-bars. How pleasant to find that Prisoners has more to offer than a simple who is the criminal? And just how far will a vengeful father go to satiate his grief?. Prisoners is such an apt title because all the main players here are trapped by either mental fragility or victims of their innocence, guilt or chaotic impulses. It's a multi stranded character piece that poses many questions, while of course it has a big mystery element. The narrative features a whole host of clues that might be something, or not, unanswered questions dangle throughout until the finale reveals thge edgy secrets. It's sa
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Cast
- Hugh JackmanKeller Dover
- Jake GyllenhaalDetective Loki
- Viola DavisNancy Birch
- Maria BelloGrace Dover
- Terrence HowardFranklin Birch
- Melissa LeoHolly Jones
- Paul DanoAlex Jones
- Dylan MinnetteRalph Dover
- Zoë SoulEliza Birch
- Erin GerasimovichAnna Dover
Crew
- Denis VilleneuveDirector
- Aaron GuzikowskiWriter
- Roger DeakinsDirector of Photography
- Jóhann JóhannssonOriginal Music Composer
- Joel CoxEditor
- Gary D. RoachEditor
- Kira DavisProducer
- Adam KolbrennerProducer
- Broderick JohnsonProducer
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Pairings
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Often watched with
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