Review of Prisoners (2013) by Amysusername — 20 Sep 2013

I absolutely hated this movie.

Judging by the critic reviews, it only got a high score from them because it's pretty and the style is interesting, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that all the user scores are so high.

I will admit that it's a visually pleasing movie, but not only does the mediocre plot drag on forever, it also relies on cheap tricks (like the plot "twist" near the end) and doesn't fill the expectations built up in the trailer (the truth behind the story was completely unbelievable).

And even though most people seem to think the characters are well thought through, all I saw was tropes. Hugh Jackman's character is the ruthless badass who'd do anything to protect his child, his wife is a stereotypical mother, doing nothing but crying for her lost child.

Detective Loki is the excellent detective with no social life, and the villains are your cookie cutter Hollywood serial killers.

Joy's parents seemed to be the only characters who weren't one dimensional, yet they had some of the least screen time.

One could argue that it's more about the message than the story itself, but an interesting message doesn't make up for a drab plot and poor character design.