The movie that didn’t know what it wanted to be.
The only commendable thing about this movie is the way it manages to completely mislead the audience into thinking they are about to watch an action packed and emotionally charged drama (at least that’s the feel you get from any trailer or poster you’ve seen) involving a daring prison escape orchestrated by John Brennan (Russell Crowe) as a testament to the undying love he shares for his (potentially, *no spoilers) innocent wife, Lara (Elizabeth Banks) and keep his family together, only to discover that they are watching an hour and a half uneventful and disappointing drama about a guy who doesn’t know where to leave his kid while he goes out doing his “errands “ (*cough* planning the escape).
From the title to the premise one would infer that the movie should be a fast paced action-drama. “Next Three Days” suggests urgency and time pressure, where the protagonist must get everything right or else there will be severe consequences and catastrophic failure; but is this reflected in the actual movie? Not so much. I mean sure, there are points within the movie where you may get a (false) sense that some fast paced montage is coming up and will continue throughout the movie, but those few and far between, and usually disappointing.
Regardless of the lack of action scenes, the chemistry between Crowe and Banks’ characters was inexistent (which is a really bad thing since it’s supposed to be a main part of the story), but that was mostly due to strange plot jumps not allowing the audience to get fully immersed in their relationship, and not due to the actual acting, which was ok. In the end, the movie feels more like a B-rate drama about the struggles of a man to reunite his family and refusing to let go of the devotion he has to his wife (the original plot of Pour Elle, the movie this is based on), and less about a cleverly planned prison break; so if you watch it with that in mind it may seem a bit more interesting and less disappointing.
All things considered, as critical as I may be (hey, it’s kinda my thing) it’s still a pretty decent movie, even if it won’t blow your mind. If you have the opportunity, see it, but don’t go out of your way to get it.
[pro] Solid acting by the main cast; the movie tends to get a bit jumpy with the narrative but it is still very watchable.
[con] Horrible child acting; a constant sensation that they skipped through the third act; and it only gets really good in the last 15-20min; you’re better off just watching Pour Elle.
[extra rant]To anyone who’s actually seen the movie: Yes, I was also annoyed by the countless times she almost screws up everything, especially after all the work the Crowe’s character put into the whole thing.
[extra, extra rant] Why did they have Olivia Wilde and Liam Neeson in this movie, other than for the posters and name dropping? They had unnecessary roles that amounted to irrelevant cameos (THIS ISN’T IRON MAN!). When you see Wilde for the first time you think she will act as a sort of plot device, offering the guy an alternative to his current situation or something, but no, she does nothing of any importance (other than the obvious eye-candy).
