Despite significant resources and a well-known cast, this accumulation of perversions, script whims, and ridiculous situations result in a monstrosity: cold, artificial, clumsy, manipulative, and, ultimately, hollow and banal. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 1/5 | Jun 22, 2023

An interesting enough premise, but in an effort to differentiate itself from a score of similarly themed police procedurals, it makes a few wrong turns.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 2, 2021

[Atom] Egoyan frames each shot so precisely so that we're always aware of what we're not seeing, creating suspense as things are revealed.

| Aug 15, 2017

Aggressively stupid when it's not downright illogical, it is hard to imagine a film less deserving for a competition slot at this year's Cannes than The Captive, a subpar Law & Order episode at best.

| Original Score: D+ | Jun 6, 2016

An efficient film with good elements but not enough to surprise anybody. [Full review in Spanish]

| May 5, 2016

The Captive revels in its own nastiness and makes for a highly unpleasant watch.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Apr 10, 2016

The end result is an effort that falls right in line with Egoyan's passable yet disappointing run of recent films...

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 14, 2016

In a sea of superhero movies, romantic comedies and horror, The Captive, is a good choice for those looking to go a little beyond simple entertainment. [full review in Spanish]

| Apr 24, 2015

Egoyan trusts his talent to play with mystery, but also relies on the public to gradually put together a puzzle made of family drama and the suspense of a thriller. [full review in Spanish]

| Apr 20, 2015

Earth to Atom, come back to us. We miss you.

| Original Score: F | Mar 3, 2015

The Captive feels trivial about something that's heinous; and that's BAD.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jan 7, 2015

The narrative structure proves to be little more than a gimmick masking the lurid melodrama.

| Dec 31, 2014

Creepy, disjointed film suffers from poor storytelling.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 25, 2014

Egoyan skilfully brings these story-lines together as the film builds to its disconcerting conclusion.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 19, 2014

For all its problems, The Captive does try to hit the themes that have obsessed Egoyan for three decades: desire, death, memory, and time.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Dec 19, 2014

Becomes baroque and ludicrous as the Hitchcockian scenario loses its psychological bearings in a web of trashy plot twists and self-conscious jumps in time.

| Dec 18, 2014

[The Captive] is undone by one too many ill-timed flashbacks and some garish melodrama which reduces the human element.

| Dec 12, 2014

"The Captive" may appear to bite off a little more than it can chew but it's one of the most satisfyingly baroque thrillers of the year, and thanks to a perfectly judged performance by Ryan Reynolds, it's quietly heartbreaking, too.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 12, 2014

The infuriatingly vague and downright strange story banishes the haunting delicacy of mood that Mr. Egoyan has conjured so successfully in the past.

| Dec 11, 2014

The film is a handy encapsulation of Atom Egoyan's career: a strong start that takes a hairpin turn into the ridiculous.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 11, 2014