Mark Kermode reviews Prisoners 

"Alex Jones, unfortunately, has the IQ of a ten-year-old." I gotta isolate that sound bite.

What plot hole fails is kermode talking about!? Thought I was going to hate this film. Turned out to be one of my top 5 all year!

It didn't feel like 2 1/2 hours at all. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I really didn't think it was all that generic, really enjoyed it, the best thriller I have seen in a long time.

This is quite a dismissive review. No mention of how good the acting is? For me, it’s the film’s greatest strength!

This film is incredible in my opinion. Be warned though - it is incredibly intense.

Lots of people wondering what the plot hole is, maybe it’s the fact that there is no documentation for Paul Dano’s character as we learn he’s actually a kidnapped child, since he was the prime suspect in the case, surely the police would have done a full background check and learned this? Either way this film was incredible and I didn’t want it to end it was so intensely gripping.

one of the best films this century for me, Villenueve and Deakins don't miss

I really enjoyed the film, filled with dread from start to finish. A must watch

Sorry Mark, a lot of reviewers have picked at this film but seems most people (read: audience) seem to enjoy this film. I went to see this with 3 others who are generally very picky, and they really enjoyed the film. The bummer of a child abduction theme (you're right, we've seen that before) was a springboard for the film to become a decent thriller. Not in my top 10 this year but definitely in the top 20!

Director Denis Villeneuve delivers an emotional, realistic & strongly acted mystery thriller that has thrills, realism & shocks from start to finish. (87%) (4.5/5 stars) (positive)

Personally, I enjoyed it. It was like a combination of The Lovely Bones, Gone Baby Gone, and True Detective season 1.

This was my favourite movie of the year

One of Jake Gyllenhaal's best performances (in a long list of great performances!) Amazing movie.

He is completely on point about this movie. The film worked much better when it was about the deterioration of Hugh Jackman's character, and the abominable lengths he will go to find the truth. In the last act, it turns into a routine crime thriller with a very unsatisfying reveal. It was as if the movie couldn't figure out whether it wanted to be a pure character study or a whodunit. Up to the final act, it was one of the most engaging films I'd ever seen, almost engaging enough for me to forgive the last act, but not quite.

What would your twist have been? Huge Action did it? It may be somewhat cliched but there weren't a lot of possibilities for who the final perpetrator was to be without picking someone at random with no justification.

I think it is quite a generic story but I agree that it's a great thriller. It keeps your attention despite the length and has great performances.

Surprised Mark didn't bring up Spoorloos. I thought this film felt like like a cross of a Fincher film while rehashing similar ideas from Spoorloos.

Don’t agree. I thought it was a top film. Codex at the end was super touch.

Just watched it. Thought it was excellent.

I agree with the Dr here, I was very involved in the plot for the first two-thirds/three quarters of the movie and was enjoying it, they had built up a lot, but was very disappointed by the ending. It wasn't very clever and made me feel like all the investment I had put in before wasn't worth it. It's a real shame when a very good film like this disappoints so much at the end as you are building up to it so much, sometimes is better to watch an ok film with an ok ending I think, as at least you don't feel let down.

I know mark is a good critic but watching this after the artemis fowl review is just lol

I loved it. All the performances were great. The plot was solid, in my opinion. I can see why someone wouldn’t enjoy it, it is a very miserable two and a half hours, but if you can stand that, it is a great film.

Really? You're getting that only now? I would have agreed with you in say, 2006, when he literally was everywhere. However, he's only been in 3 films this year. And Movie 43 was hardly notable for his sole appearance. Never cared for Wolverine or the X-Men, but I've always thought he a competent actor and tolerable screen presence.

HUGE ACTION!

Wow, I am happy I don't see what you see... i enjoyed...

The cast of Neighbours don't have glorious singing voices though

"Alex Jones has the IQ of a 10 year old." The name choice cant be coincidental 😂

The film clip is massively too quiet. Who edits the audio on these? I keep noticing more and more mistakes....

Enjoyed it..!

The director created a tremendously dark, sinister tone for the first 80% of the movie, only to ruin it with a clichéd and predictable reveal at the end.

couldnt agree more mark

Me too

I reject your review :) Please re-reviw. One of the best films all year but really intrigues what plot-holes are you talking about? Can you please share as I maybe missing something. Please. The only 1 I feel is the afro girl ran and the granny didn't care that she will tell the address? Even that my friends say is no plot-hole as for her the final day had come (of whatever ritual she wanted to do).

"Labyrinthine"... I see what you did there.

This film is classic Hitchcock, utterly enthralling and had me on the edge of my seat. But because Hitchcock isn't on the label, it's getting a luke warm review from the pretentious duo.

Alex Jones....

don't think "labyrinthinely" is a word - acually, just checked - it is, just doesn't sound like one

I love this film! I was totally immersed in it from beginning to end. My only nitpick is the Hugh Jackman ambiguous fate, other than that I love it.

Alex Jones has the I.Q of a ten year old.......... Denis villenueve a regular viewer of the one show then.

They really had to name him Alex Jones, in a movie that came out 10 months after the Sandy Hook controversy. Still one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, but it really makes you wonder...

what plotholes is he talking about? and whats generic? i do disagree mark

So

don't think "labyrinthinely" is a word

I disagree because Jake Gyllenhaal's character was so slow at piecing everything together I felt frustrated the whole time waiting for stuff I knew was going to happen to happen. Hitchcock has never made a movie where it was predictable and this is.

Pretentious, overblown and overly complicated to the point where it loses any credibility, the one amazing thing about the film - aside from Deakins' work - is that the film has hoodwinked so many critics and punters. When Hugh Jackman turns up at Melissa Leo's home again to offer to carry out chores as pennance for scaring her, and she pulls a gun on him and starts to offer exposition dialogue as she leads him to a hole in the ground, dialogue presumably so as to clarify what's going on for the audience, I remembered thinking this has entered Police Squad territory. It actually reminded me of an episode of PS or something like Cagney and Lacey. For a film that is trying to present itself as serious exploration of all these hard-hitting themes, this is not good enough. Alarm bells start to ring from the beginning. The early scene in which the two blue-collar families enjoy a Thanksgiving get-together is poorly written and unconvincing. You know you're watching convincing cinema when you forget you're watching the likes of Terence Howard and Hugh J but I never once did forget that what I was Watching were actors.

Are we all going to go along with this idea of sleepy-eyed, namby pamby Gyllenhaal making for a convincing police officer/soldier/tough guy? Born to Hollywood royalty and given the working class action hero status on a silver platter despite being utterly unconvincing as one - this is starting to sound like Nicholas Cage

Very disappointed by this film. Saw it come up a lot when watching discussions of other films that I had really liked. I don't know how this film was pitched, it was long, miserable and pretty uninteresting. Lots of the characters decisions didn't make sense, the film felt like it was stuck in a loop for about an hour when it seemed to realise if it wanted to create moral tension over Jackman's beatings of Dano, then it shouldn't really have jumped immediately into him kidnapping him. Over and over it went 'I don't want to do this but I have to' friend says 'But its soo wroooong' only to get 'OUR DAUGHTERS!'. In my opinion the film would have been much better if Jackman was fighting his urges to beat Dano and that was the main tension, and when he gives in to this the rug is soon pulled out from under his feet, revealing it was the Auntie'. It seemed like it wanted to explore 'what are justifiable and understandable lengths you would go to in this situation' but because it went straight there, it didn't feel thoroughly explored at all. There's also a moment about 'what it really means to care' between Gyllenhaal and Jackman - but this too was not very explored. In the end Jackman's character kind of ended up being pointless. And then the film couldn't even commit to burying him Spoorloos style (though I'm not sure what the point of that would have been either). I have to disagree with the popular consensus on Jackman's acting too. He was perfectly fine for most of the film and even very good in the sadder scenes, but I thought his angry acting was quite bad. 'ANGRY ANGRY LINE' *stands between line looking relaxed and normal* 'ANGRY ANGRY LINE' - repeat. He just shouted. The whole time he looked like a man pretending to be angry rather than a man who was actually angry to me. It felt like the film wanted to make more profound comments than it was, and had a unbelievably lacklustre crime plot, there might have been some 'twists and turns' but I felt they mostly didn't matter and weren't saying anything interesting. TL:DR Boring and miserable.

This film was good but would have been better if Hugh Jackman's character wasn't so irritating.

I am suffering from Hugh Jackman overload - even though I avoid his movies at all costs. Perhaps the reason I avoid them is that I am sick of seeing his name every time I blink. To me, Jackman seems more suitable to Neighbours than the big screen.