67
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsThe style is brash, and it works. Tucker and Epperlein illustrate Yunis' account of his eight-month imprisonment, much of that time spent at the notorious Abu Ghraib compound, with literal illustrations--pages seemingly torn out of a Frank Miller graphic novel.
- 83Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEight months of interrogation and torture in fetid Abu Ghraib followed before he was released, innocent. None of The Prisoner's showy flourishes -- animation, sound effects, fancy editing -- can match the power of Abbas' stillness as he describes one man's agony in one huge hell.
- 80Film ThreatMerle BertrandFilm ThreatMerle BertrandWar is chaos and confusion even under the best of circumstances, of which this current fiasco clearly ain’t. The Prisoner… underscores this fact, as well as muddying up the waters on such commonly accepted platitudes as "Support the Troops."
- 75New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanThe film leaves us wondering about all the war stories we haven't heard.
- 70VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonThe Prisoner is in many ways a justifiably angry film, simmering with moral outrage. But it is also -- surprisingly, maybe even amazingly -- hopeful.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceYunis, as he imploringly reminds us, is the Iraqi people, but he is also steeped in Hollywood references, pulling analogies for the U.S. occupation from "Rambo" and "Dirty Harry."
- 70Washington PostPhilip KennicottWashington PostPhilip KennicottIt is a film rich in detail, the kind that simply never emerges in the nightly news accounts of the war.
- 70Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWhat's troubling about the film's technique is its lack of context; we must take Yuris, who speaks serviceable English, pretty much at his word. What's troubling about his story is its ring of truth.
- 58The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinBy recounting Abbas' ordeal as an endless inarticulate monologue, The Prisoner reduces it to a dull anecdote--timely and relevant, perhaps, but an anecdote all the same.
- 50The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisIt is a depressing story, certainly, as well as moving, confusing and, at a fast 72 minutes, at once undercooked and overpadded.