"Prisoners," a new top movie about a father (Hugh Jackman) who becomes desperate when police can't find his abducted daughter, treats his vigilantism not as an extreme case, but rather behavior the audience can connect with.
Putting it into perspective, "Prisoners" follows a string of films about people who go outside of law enforcement to find justice: "Death Wish" (1974), "Reservoir Dogs" (1992), and "The Brave One" (2007), to name a few.
See Greater Boston's full discussion on vigilante cinema below:
Spoiler alert: we touch on a key plot turn in "Prisoners" that some viewers might want to wait to see in theaters.