Prisoners (2013)

Somewhere in the last act of Prisoners, the mazes, red herrings and boxes of snakes pile up so high that it stops feeling like a real town and starts feeling like a puzzle book. That’s the catch. Before that, it’s about as tense as crime movies get. Hugh Jackman plays a father who decides the police are too slow and does something awful about it, and the film makes you sit inside that choice instead of cheering for it. Jake Gyllenhaal’s Detective Loki blinks like his eyes are filing paperwork, and his quiet, twitchy focus is the best thing in the movie. Paul Dano barely talks and still makes the room feel cold. Viola Davis and Terrence Howard play parents deciding how far they’ll let it go, which is the real question here. It runs 153 minutes and rarely sags. A 7.7 because it’s gripping and heavy and a little too in love with its own riddles. $317 says you lock the front door tonight, walk away, then come back to check it twice.

What works: Jake Gyllenhaal’s restless detective, Hugh Jackman’s raw desperation, and a cold, gray mood that never lets up.

What doesn’t: The final act leans on too many convenient clues and puzzle-box tricks for a story that starts out this grounded.

Who it’s for: Adults who like slow-burn crime mysteries and can handle a long, heavy story about missing kids.