Review - Prisoners

"Prisoners" is a fairly intense suspense. It's raw and emotional but somehow fails to grasp me in a way that it ought to. Despite Hugh Jackman's riveting performance, I'm not inclined to follow his decent into madness nor condemn him for it. It's kind of like watching a domestic dispute through the window. Jake Gyllenhaal seems like a half assed supercop (that's never had an unsolved case). There are far too many red herrings (which aren't even red herrings but more like blundering story telling) which makes me believe there was something there I missed, for while I was able to follow the story clearly enough, some things just go unexplained such as why Loki's name is Loki of all things and why he wears a Mason's ring. The score is nearly non-existent, making for some rather empty European feeling dramatic scenes.  It sort of felt like watching a double length episode of "48 Hours" where the bad guy is the guy from "Seven." It's a decent thrill but falls short of being a good psychological thriller as it could have been. It also makes me think America is full of murderous freaks. It would probably have gotten a better rating if the ending hadn't been the biggest "fuck you" from a movie I have ever received. 2.5/6