Prisoners

After his six-year-old daughter is abducted, a desperate father takes justice into his own hands when he loses faith in the detective leading the investigation, setting both men on a collision course as the search descends into obsession and moral compromise.

Denis Villeneuve's abduction thriller earns genuine dread through its performances and slow-burn atmosphere, but critics split on whether its punishing length and moral weight feel earned or exhausting. Jackman and Gyllenhaal drew the most discussion, with reviewers largely agreeing on Gyllenhaal's restrained excellence while disagreeing sharply on whether Jackman's anguished intensity eventually tips into monotony. Audiences have embraced it far more warmly over time than the initial critical reception fully predicted.