There was so much about this film that I *wanted* to review favourably, but after 2.5 hours its weaknesses became irritating to a distracting extent.

The obvious comparison here has to be Se7en - but where Se7en makes successful commitments in tone and character, Prisoners tries to walk a line that leaves the viewer perplexed and unfulfilled. Jackman's character does become beastly, but never actually pulls the trigger in the dramatic fashion of Pitt. The realistic atmosphere is undermined by the coincidental presence of several weirdos, including one who seems to exist as nothing but a red herring. The motivation of the villian feels dull and arbitrary after the long wait for a reveal that never really builds, but just sort of happens (not unlike most of the plot of Bladder Runner 2049).

Before Se7en and True Detective this might have offered more material for discussion, but it comes off plain in comparison to both. The shooting was fine and the soundtrack was consistently ominous. Ghyllenhaal and Jackman seemed like imperfect castings, though the former clearly tried his best with the material he had (for a detective who has supposedly solved EVERY ONE of his cases, his character was much more lackadaisical than you might expect). What the hell the police were actually doing for most of the film remains an unsolved mystery. The decision to fade out rather than show several significant scenes, including the final one, is another.

There's some good in this, but the bad was too fundamental to ignore. The gripping suspense of Sicario and Arrival is much preferred.