I have three reasons for you to see The Captive:
(1) Ryan Reynolds.
(2) Ryan Reynolds with a beard.
(3) Ryan Reynolds with a beard in plaid.
If those aren't good enough for you, then allow me to share some other elements of the film There may be slight spoilers, so if you'd rather not read on, just know that this was a pretty great film and I'd recommend you watch it.
First, the cinematography was beautiful. I believe it was shot in Canada, around the Niagara Falls area, and it's just beautiful. There were some interesting shots as well,, like in one scene, the main antagonist, Mika (Kevin Durand), is sitting in front of a computer monitor, having a video conversation with Cass (Alexia Fast), who is in a locked room. The camera is at his back, so the audience can't see his face, but there is a mirror beside the monitor angled in such a way that the camera can see his reflection. Genius blocking.
The film went out of order, showing scenes from before Cass went missing to years afterwards and back to before. There was one scene where a detective went to ask some business man some questions about a police officer that had gone missing. She had been working on Cass' case, and there seemed to be some sort of romantic connection between this woman and the detective (which is confirmed in a later scene). It then goes back to before the woman was missing and goes in order up to when she was kidnapped. I love when films are directed this way! It keeps me interested and engaged in what's going on.
To be completely honest, I assumed The Captive would be like any other missing-person movie (a.k.a. all the Taken films) and I was really only interested because of Ryan Reynolds (I mean, come on. It's Ryan Reynolds), but, I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this film.
I give The Captive 7.5 out of 10.
