Advertisement

Movies & TV Movies & TV Reviews

We deserve better than Prisoner X

PRISONER X (Gaurav Seth). 88 minutes. Opens Friday (April 15). See listing. Rating: N


Science fiction doesn’t have to be expensive. As Shane Carruth demonstrated with Primer, you can make a terrific, head-spinning thriller on a tiny budget with a minimum of visual effects – as long as you have a great idea and a smart script.

The new sci-fi thriller Prisoner X has not learned the lessons of Primer, and that’s a shame, because it’s treading similar ground. It has a good idea, but no idea how to execute it.

Gaurav Seth’s modestly budgeted feature – adapted from a novella by Robert Reed – takes place in 2017, at a point when the war on terror has failed. Attacks on U.S. soil are an unnerving reality, the world is tilting into chaos, and a former CIA operative (Saving Hope’s Michelle Nolden) is reactivated to interrogate a myster­ious detainee (Romano Orzari) who’s been held in custody since 2002. 

Why is he important? Well, it seems this man possesses impossible knowledge of upcoming celestial events – and might hold the key to changing America’s past as well as its future. 

As sci-fi thrillers go, that’s a decent starting point, but Seth doesn’t have the slightest idea how to make it interesting. Prisoner X stumbles right away with a clunky prologue and never quite rights itself, falling into a leaden slog of circular arguments, pointless dream sequences and grim military posturing. 

It all pays off in an ending that’s supposed to be clever but is instead ut­terly infuriating, abandoning char­acter development and credibility for the sake of a cheesy reversal. You deserve better than this. I know I do.

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.