The Next Three Days

Directed by: Paul Haggis

Released: 19 Nov 2010 USA, 5 Jan 2011 UK

Starring: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Daniel Stern, Liam Neeson

IMDB page

He said:

This film asks the question 'what are you willing to risk in order to be with the person you love most'. Paul Haggis asks us to suspend our disbelief after the first ten minutes of the film. I think I struggled to enjoy it because of that - at no point did Crowe's character strike me as anything more than that.

That isn't to knock any of the performances in the film. I think all the actors did a fantastic job with the material they were given it just didn't do anything for me. There seem to be quite a few cameo appearances in this film that seem awkwardly wedged in and unnecessary, usually a sign of panic from the production team behind the film.

This is not a typical prison break type of film but as you can see in the trailer there is a couple of pretty impressive chase scenes in an other wise mediocre film. {{{I give 3 out of 5}}}

She said:

I found this film reasonably enjoyable. There was suspense, action, drama and surprisingly a few moments of humour too. There was something however that stopped this film being brilliant and, as James said, I think that we were required to suspend our disbelief just a little too long.

My biggest issue with films like this is that they try and make you believe that a decent person can flick a switch in their head to become a criminal mastermind who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Fortunately this film had some believable elements, which lifted it just above the same old/same old.

I really enjoyed seeing Russell Crowe in his first film since Robin Hood. I think he carried the film well and there was a strong, believable chemistry between him and Elizabeth Banks. The actors often had to portray their feelings without many words which is always a test of an actors ability and I think they passed well.

I have a few other gripes, such as actors such as Jason Beghe (who plays a police detective) who added an interesting element but were underevolved, but overall I like this film and would watch it again. I give this film {{{3 out of 5}}}

They said: The Next Three Days (interestingly the title is not present in the film... in more ways than one) is worth watching but we suggest you wait to rent it. We give it [[[6 out of 10]]]

Question for the comments: Do you prefer prison break films or heist films?