As I walked into the local theatre, I was surprised to be one of only about ten people there for the fiveo’clock premiere of “Prisoners.”Remembering that most people come to movies later in the evening, I thought, “Hey, more movie for me.” With Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman in the lead roles, I was excited to not have to share the screen too much. I took my seat and eagerly awaited the suspenseful movie.  I was not disappointed.

The movie centers on two families that allow their daughters, Joy and Anna, to walk down the street to the other family’s house during Thanksgiving dinner.  In doing so, the girls, both six years old, are abducted. The only lead that the police have is a run-down RV that Joy’s older brother saw parked on the street earlier that day.

Detective Loki, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is in charge of the investigation. Under his lead, the police take one suspect into custody, but are not able to make an arrest as new suspects come to light. Keller Dover, Joy’s father who was played by Hugh Jackman, gets fed up with the police not finding anything, and takes matters into his own hands to find the missing girls. How far will he go to save them? Well, you are just going to have to watch the movie and find out!

I think that Hugh Jackman plays the part of concerned father almost too well. As a viewer, you feel Keller Dover’sheartbreaking in desperation to find his daughter.  While his wifechooses to sleep the entire film away (aided by prescription medicine) to deal with her distress, Dover goes to any lengths necessary to find the girls. I really sympathized with him. I cannot imagine being a parent of an abducted childand having to waitaround until the police found them.

Jake Gyllenhaal played the part of Detective Loki superbly. This is not his first police roll; he also starred as a detective in “Zodiac” (2007), a movie based on the unsolved zodiac murders of the 1970s. Loki promises the two families that he will find their daughters, and when no arrests are made, his concern for the girls is shown when he destroys his office in the police station out of anger and frustration. As an audience member, I was rooting for Detective Loki for the entire movie.

In addition to great acting, “Prisoners” also packs awesome suspense. The movie is over two and a half hours long, so it is understandable that some parts are a little monotonous and hard to get through before the climax of the film, but the suspense is amazing! It keeps you on the edge of your seat and the plot twists leave you with no idea who to blame for the kidnapping. My heart raced constantly throughout the movie. I had to try not to chew my nails in anxiety!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed “Prisoners.” It was a welcomeddeviation from the abundance of horror movies being released.  The acting was very believable without being overdone, and there were enough plot twists to keep you interested, yet never confused. On my Most Awesome Rating Scale (MARS), “Prisoners” definitely deserves an eight out of ten.