Review of Prisoners (2013) by Shpostal — 21 Sep 2013

This summer was one for the books. With the exception of "Despicable Me 2", most highly anticipated films were duds, "The Lone Ranger" the biggest disappointment of all. Fortunately this fall seems to be starting off much better, thanks to "Prisoners".

It's a first rate crime thriller with new developments at every turn, making it very difficult to figure out exactly what has happened, as the audience discovers the truth at the same time the characters do. Hugh Jackman as always is excellent as the grieving and understandably manic father of a kidnapped daughter, along with her friend and the neighbor's girl at the same time.

Jake Gyllenhaal turns in a performance as good as Jackman's as the detective assigned to and determined to find the girls alive.

One critic reviewed this movie and slammed it all the way through, and just to show his ignorance managed to re-slam "Mystic River", so it's a safe assumption based on the fact that both are riveting stories and excellent movies, this critic either pans the good stuff just to be a jerk or doesn't know a good movie when it bites his ass.

The movie will keep you guessing throughout I had misidentified the kidnapper at least three times. It is a dark and utterly humorless movie, but for those who like a good crime mystery, it's among the best. While not similar in plot to the superb "Shutter Island", it does remind me of that unpredictable ending too. Whether it's Oscar material is debatable, but it is one of the best movies of the year so far.