The Next Three Days
Director: Paul Haggis
Starring: Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Russell Crowe
Details: US / 133mins (12A).
"Are you the kind of man who can kill someone who gets in your way? Can you leave your child at a gas station?" are the questions put to John Brennan (Crowe) who plans to break his wife Lara (Banks) out of prison when she is sentenced to life for the murder of her boss. John refuses to believe she's guilty but it doesn't look good: Lara has been bitching for some time about how much she hates her boss, her fingerprints are on the weapon (a fire extinguisher), her boss' blood is found on her jacket and she was seen leaving the scene of the crime. John meets with the serial prison escapee-turned novelist Pennington (Liam Neeson) for tips - and meticulously sets about his prison break. But when he learns that Lara will be moved in three days, John is up against the clock.
Like the original, the story can be pretty far-fetched and implausible stuff at times, but if you're willing to accept this very ordinary man in an extraordinary situation The Next Three Days has enough thrills and spills to entertain. That's mainly down to Paul Haggis' (who has also written the script) tact of upping the ante at every available opportunity, making each new problem seemingly impossible to overcome. The idea to place doubt in John's mind that Lara may have actually committed the murder would have been a fun element if it was delved into more, but Haggis dispenses with that all too quickly to get the break-out story back on track. The insistence of including a very intrusive soundtrack at critical moments that undercut the tension of what's happening on screen is a bad decision, too - wrong tune, wrong time.
It won't win any Oscars but The Next Three Days is a cleverly plotted thriller that keeps the audience guessing and two steps behind at all times. Banks has little to do but furrow her brow in prison but Crowe turns in a dependable performance and his determination to do what it takes for the woman he loves is easy to get on board with.
Review by Gavin Burke
Your Comments
Finn
This was one of the best films in a long time; I'm looking forward to getting the original French one out. Russell Crowe, who's looking more like Ian Dempsey these days, played the idiot teacher/conservative middle class character very well and you were left telling him not to do it and expecting the inevitable tragedy. Without giving the game away, this was well-worth going to see.
Posted 07/01/2011 13:18:48
movielover
I did love 'Pour Elle' (Anything for her). I'd say this version has a lot more explosions though because it's american, but I it should be good too.
Posted 08/01/2011 21:16:36
Paul
Gonna see it tonight, can't wait, looks bloody amazing :D
Posted 10/01/2011 14:40:41
Paul
Brilliant movie, very well made and the pay off is worth waiting for. A slow burning movie to start with, but like most films of it's genre (I kept thinking how much it reminds me of Ransom with Mel Gibson), it speeds up as it moves along. Really enjoyed it :)
Posted 10/01/2011 21:55:12
Paul
@Finn, after having seen the movie, your comment has left me stumped. How is he an idiot? He's one of the smartest characters in recent movies, who could have done half of what he did? And at no point did i tell him not to do anything, i urged him on, i chanted over and over in my mind "She's your wife, rob that bank, shoot that guy, do whatever it takes". He did what any man would do for his woman, everything. As for inevitable tragedy, i feel i should shut up now and just tell people that this is sssssoooooooo worth a tenner, it impressed the hell outta me and i went with very high expectations.
Posted 11/01/2011 00:01:01
pandabat
Any credit given to Haggis should surely be given to the real writers, Guillaume Lemans and Fred Cavayé, non? Haven't seen the remake (can't imagine it being better than original, plot-holes and all) but Haggis' job here probably involved little more than the use of Google Translate. Do go and see though if you've not seen the original - it should be an enjoyable show!
Posted 11/01/2011 09:43:06
Paul
To be fair, Pandabat, i feel a lot of the credit must go to Russell Crowe himself, who was fantastic. The story to be fair, is far from original, i've seen countless movies and TV shows with almost the identical plot (Prison Break most recently). As for the original, i would check it out sometime, but with my unfondness for French cinema and the prospect of either reading subtitles for 2 hours or learning French language being not very appealing to me, i'd struggle to sit through it. But i have to say, i am very curious about it right now. And a lot of remakes are far superior to the originals, even if most people won't admit it.
Posted 11/01/2011 14:55:35
Lord Sabre
"A lot of remakes are far superior to the originals, even if most people won't admit it." WUM if there ever was one.
Posted 12/01/2011 16:21:33
Paul
WUM??? I'll take that to mean you don't agree, so i'll blind you with a short list of remakes better than the originals... The Italian Job... Get Carter (Criminally underrated, seriously fantastic remake with Stallone, a million times better than the original)... The Hills Have Eyes... The Hitcher... The Texas Chainsaw Massacre... The Invasion... The Jackal (Based somewhat on the screenplay of the far inferior The Day Of The Jackal, one of the most dull and uninteresting movies i've ever seen) etc... So many more i could mention.
Posted 13/01/2011 14:18:10
Paul
As for me being a wind up merchant, i offered an opinion, you didn't, so who's the WUM?
Posted 13/01/2011 14:19:49
noel
Shockingly boring movie that was cut to pieces it looks like 3 different movies and when it was edited the makers forgot which movie they wanted to show... A complete snooze fest.
Posted 13/01/2011 16:48:00
Paul
Actually, Noel is somewhat spot on there, it does feel like 3 different movies, starts off as quite calm and quiet, then starts to become a surburban crime movie, then for about 30 minutes becomes an epic chase movie. But really not boring in the least, i didn't so much as blink through it.
Posted 13/01/2011 21:38:53
Paul
And it has the divine Olivia Wilde, which is a massive +
Posted 13/01/2011 21:41:24
noel
Paul seriously The Stallone Remake of Get Carter? Even Stallone Disowned that one... You seem to have a thing for s**tty remakes... Oh and by the by what i meant about the editing and three different movies is that its a confused movie that was badly edited, so much was cut from the final edit, just look at the stains on Crowes fingers from all the smoking he does.... How many smokes does he have in the movie? Haggis can write but as a director he has a long way to go.
Posted 18/01/2011 12:35:12
celeste
I went to see this film last wknd. I loved every min of it, it was sooo good!! Im going to see it again tonight!! I love Russell Crowe, he was excellent.. and ya def worth the tenner!!
Posted 21/01/2011 19:13:07
jeri
I really enjoyed this film, an average family who has there lives dramatically changed when John Brennan's (Crowe) wife lara is arrested for the murder of her boss when having breakfast with her small son and husband. As a fan of Russell Crowe he is excellent in this movie, an ordinary man driven by a plan to help his wife and unite his family 'The Next Three Days' is a cleverly plotted minuet to minuet thriller that had me guessing to the end if she did murder her boss. The escape is edge of seat viewing with a good ending.
Posted 23/01/2011 15:32:05
Film fan
By coincidence I had seen the original "Pour Elle" only a month or two beforehand and still really enjoyed this film. I think they improved parts of it too!
Posted 24/01/2011 20:09:42
mark
After reading above comments and being recommended by friends to watch I was bitterly dissappointed with a very weak plot and some totally unrealistic scenes...Editing was poor..the film was not even saved by Russell Crowe's screen presence and acting ability.
Posted 29/01/2011 16:23:01
Paulie
Noel, movies are like food, everyone likes different things. What you, or even Stallone himself may think of the Get Carter remake, i adore it, i think it's a stunning movie, excellent action, brilliant direction, great soundtrack, impressive cast (Including Michael Caine himself), a very stylish, horribly underrated gem, i'm mad for it. And in every way in my opinion, it beats out the original.
Posted 16/03/2011 16:57:27
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Your Reviews...
should have been called..... - Sarah
the next 3 years. I found the film dragged, the plot was a bit silly to be honest. It was very unrealistic that a... MORE07/02/2012 22:26:55
Director Paul Haggis handles the drama well, as we know from Crash, but it's the implausible action that fatally flaws the movie as a whole. - Hanley
A happy family existence is abruptly destroyed when Lara Brennan (Elizabeth Banks) is arrested for the murder of her... MORE20/06/2011 16:50:02
Edge of your seat, Gripping and Exciting Stuff!! - HHhhhmmmm....
I had originally no intention of seeing this film as from the trailers and lack of publicity about it I had not... MORE26/01/2011 01:32:33Summary - jeri
I really enjoyed this film, an average family who has there lives dramatically changed when John Brennan's (Crowe) wife... MORE23/01/2011 15:35:33