Prisoners has already been earmarked as a Box Office favourite, prior to its US release. Hugh Jackman stars in the thriller as Keller Dover, a man whose six-year-old daughter, Anna, and her friend go missing. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Detective Loki, the police officer in charge of the investigation. From the description Warner Bros. provides to compliment the trailer, Jackman's character decides to follow his own line of enquiry after the police investigation grinds to a halt.

Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal at the L.A. premiere of Prisoners.

Prisoners is due to be released tomorrow (20th September) but early reviews indicate it's likely to be a success at the Box Office. Claudia Puig of USA Today describes Prisoners as "an intricate, horrifying mystery with breath-taking skill." She also comments on the issues the film raises, specifically "the complicated moral questions about how far an anguished person will go for the love of a child."

Those who have criticised the film have primarily commented on the film's decision to remain typical of the thriller genre. As Ann Hornaday, of the Washington Post, states the film is an "A grade-A genre exercise" which focusses on "specious reasoning and promiscuous, pseudo-sacrificial suffering."

However, the critics' response appears to be, on the whole, positive. The New York Times critic, A.O. Scott, gave the movie a glowing review, describing how "It absorbs and controls your attention with such assurance that you hold your breath for fear of distracting the people on screen, exhaling in relief or amazement at each new revelation."

Watch the movie trailer for Prisoners:

Jackman and Gyllenhaal are fan favourites, as the LA Times points out, and many of their films have been highly profitable, although the two remain connected to different film genres. Gyllenhaal seems to have ventured into darker and more unpleasant roles than his Prisoners star, this marks one of the first occasions for a number of years since Jackman has appeared in a project with such ominous storylines. Nevertheless, Jackman may well have outdone himself in his role, as Richard Roeper (Chicago-Sun Tribune) claims it is "The best performance of Hugh Jackman's career."

Prisoners is due to be released in the US tomorrow, 20th September, whilst cinema goers in the UK will have to wait until 27th September.

Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman at the premiere of Prisoners.

Maria Bello
Maria Bello also stars in Prisoners, as Hugh Jackman's wife.