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Prisoners

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Prisoners

R

Released Sep 20, 2013

2h 33m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

250 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) faces a parent's worst nightmare when his 6-year-old daughter, Anna, and her friend go missing. The only lead is an old motorhome that had been parked on their street. The head of the investigation, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), arrests the driver (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces Loki to release his only suspect. Dover, knowing that his daughter's life is at stake, decides that he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands.

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Critics Consensus

Prisoners has an emotional complexity and a sense of dread that makes for absorbing (and disturbing) viewing.

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Kate Stables

Sight & Sound

Guzikowski's well-honed thriller occasionally idles under Villeneuve's dark character studies, but the director's powerfully imposed mood of dread elevates what might otherwise have been just a superior police procedural.

Jul 31, 2018

Full Review

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

An increasingly sloppy thriller, filled with obvious clues, laughable red herrings, and halfhearted "shock" reveals, played at a snail's pace that lets far too much air into the narrative.

Jun 19, 2016

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Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

This film haunted me for days and weeks after seeing it, and the feeling still lingers.

Rated: A+

Apr 17, 2015

Full Review

Miles Surrey

The Ringer

The tense thriller that put its director on the map...

Sep 29, 2023

Full Review

Iván Kazi

EscribiendoCine

While the resolution is close to being predictable... the movie's strong suit is something else. The process, the content, and the journey are profoundly immersive. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 8/10

Dec 7, 2022

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

“Prisoners” offers some slick foreboding, crafty twists, and a satisfying ending.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 24, 2022

Full Review

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Fernando D

Excellent. Suspense from the beginning to the end. Top cast

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/24/25

Full Review

stait t

Rewatched Prisoners last night — still one of the best mystery thrillers of the last decade. Denis Villeneuve really knows how to build tension without going over the top. Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal absolutely carried the film — raw, intense, and painfully human. The atmosphere is so grim and rainy you can practically feel the cold. And the story, while simple on paper, pulls you deeper with every scene. Interestingly, I couldn’t find it in my usual library, but thankfully I managed to stream it without much hassle. One quick switch and it showed up in the catalog — gotta love modern solutions. If you’re into dark, grounded thrillers with moral complexity, this one’s a must-watch.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/22/25

Full Review

Daniel N

Interesting, captivating and suspenseful first time around but very dull the second time through. Really loses its shine once you know the twist.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/07/25

Full Review

Audience Member

Got me hooked to the screen... a really sad movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/05/25

Full Review

Julian Rex M

Matching its police-thriller eye candy with fully-realized philosophical exploration, Prisoners finds Denis Villeneuve comfortably at home after his switch to American cinema, and proves that Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal have the collective chemistry to easily power through an inconsistent and occasionally piecemeal script.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/26/25

Full Review

Landen D

Movie that makes you empathize with parents of missing kids and makes you question the limits you would go to get them back. It shows how parents will often do whatever necessary to protect their kids when in immediate danger.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/14/25

Full Review

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Denis Villeneuve

Director

Hugh Jackman

Keller Dover

Jake Gyllenhaal

Det. Loki

Viola Davis

Nancy Birch

Maria Bello

Grace Dover

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Synopsis

Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) faces a parent's worst nightmare when his 6-year-old daughter, Anna, and her friend go missing. The only lead is an old motorhome that had been parked on their street. The head of the investigation, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), arrests the driver (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces Loki to release his only suspect. Dover, knowing that his daughter's life is at stake, decides that he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands.

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Producer: Broderick Johnson, Kira Davis, Andrew A. Kosove, Adam Kolbrenner
Screenwriter: Aaron Guzikowski
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: 8:38 Productions, Madhouse Entertainment
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Disturbing Violent Content|Torture)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 20, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $61.0M
Runtime: 2h 33m
Sound Mix: Datasat, SDDS, Dolby Digital

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