Do movies even need an explanation?

‘The Captive’ film review

By Steven Cayer, Senior Columnist

 3/5

Movies about kidnapping have always been predictable to me: either they find the victim alive or dead and get the bad guy, or they don’t. The Captive is definitely one of those predictable stories. This Canadian film stars Ryan Reynolds as a loving father whose daughter mysteriously disappears.

The storyline moves back and forth throughout an eight-year period. I enjoyed the way it was done because it let the audience discover the plot points at the same time that the characters did. It was more interesting than just a straight path. Sadly, my favourite part comes in the first-quarter of the movie, namely the dialogue between father and daughter.

For the rest of it, the script falls flat. There were a few moments where one line just didn’t fit, making an intense moment unintentionally goofy; that in turn made emotional scenes unbelievable. It’s like The Captive is trying to be too many things at once. I noticed plots blatantly just fall to the wayside, which was distracting. I was also distracted by waiting to find out the reason behind the kidnapping itself.

The director did a good job conveying the message that a kidnapping spiritually involves everyone it comes in contact with though, from the parents to the detectives. This movie has a lot of flaws, but it’s worth a rental.