Movie Review: Prisoners

Prisoners (2013) Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal star in this mystery-suspense thriller filled with twists and turns.

First of all apologies from my end for the lateness of this review. My Saturday was insane and as a result I did not have an appropriate amount of time to formulate my thoughts for this review. But....better late than never right?

This movie was fun. A lot of fun. It is a classic who-done-it flick, with a lot of twists that are quite impressive and (for the most part) unpredictable. Additionally, it is masterfully acted. This is without a doubt the best part of the movie. Honestly, if you are a fan of movies, I would strongly recommend seeing this for nothing else but the acting. There is a clinic on this in here somewhere. Jackman and Gyllenhaal was great, but the man who stole the show was Paul Dano. If you are asking yourself who Paul Dano is, watch There Will Be Blood. That was one of the most memorable acting performances I've seen in recent memory. And he was just as memorable in this movie, despite being in darkness for a large portion of the movie. Certainly blew Ryan Reynolds in Buried out of the water. Sorry Ryan. My biggest problem with this movie was its length. It is waaaaay too long at 153 minutes. And there's a completely unnecessary and unbelievable and forced FOURTH act. I really wish that they had not even included this ending. Which is a shame because I saw reviews of critics praising the ending but man I just didn't see it at all.

Honestly, there's not a lot to say here. I don't want to spoil anything, because the whole purpose of a who-done-it flick is to not know what's happening. It is well written, with a lot of great themes prevalent throughout the movie, despite being rather formulaic in its events. It is well acted, with everyone showing up and putting in great performances. It's pretty memorable, but it is definitely not going to show up at the Oscars. Still, I would recommend it.

The Critique: a classic and fun who-done-it. Overlong and mostly lacking memorability, it is still a good way to spend 150 minutes.

The Recommendation: If you like mysteries, you will LOVE this movie. If you like acting, this movie is a clinic. If you have no interest in either, you probably aren't reading this review.

Where to see it: seeing it in a movie theater did not add to the experience. Redbox or Netflix will work just fine.

The Verdict: 7/10 Good