The Next Three Days

IMDb Link

I am not a Russell Crowe fan, but I admit that he usually chooses his films well and that they are, again usually, watchable or even enjoyable. This is such a film. I got a bit weary of Paul Haggis after 'Crash,' because it was overblown melodrama. But this film, well, I knew nothing about it when I started watching it and I first thought it was going to be an action film, then a heist film. Then I realised it's about a man who wants to break his wife out of jail and it's, as such, well: nicely done. I kept on watching, I wanted to see how it would happen. Notice I said 'how,' not 'if.' Because, come on: you just know it ends happily... Or does it?!...

Yeah, no: it does, of course it does. But there are a couple of 'whoa' moments along the way, thankfully.

But the really incredible thing is that when you're Paul Haggis, your supporting actors, some of them not more than glorified extras, are people with a name. And talent... You have Brian Dennehy, Olivia Wilde (oooh weeee), Daniel Stern (with hair!), Kevin Corrigan (the eternal supporting actor, he deserves a big role soon), the RZA (fuck, yeah!), and Lennie James (as a bad-ass police detective). Oh, and a newcomer by the name of Liam Neeson. That guy's got a future.
Really... Neeson has a 2-minute role.

Does Paul Haggis carry out sexual favors for his actors? And is he really good at doing that? Or, hey, maybe: he's just a really good writer. He's my hero. Well, except for 'Crash.' But 'Mystic River' is incredible.

It's even nice to see Elizabeth Banks in a serious role, I got used to seeing her in '30 Rock' or cheesy rom-coms, so it's nice to see that she can actually act and it's weird that she was chosen for this role, but I guess they needed someone who would not look as someone accused of murder.

Crowe is good as the resolute but vulnerable and scared guy who does what he has to do. But does he, though? Does he HAVE to do this? I mean, he plans everything and then he only has 3 days to do it, but he doesn't know where his wife is being moved, maybe it'll be in a place that could be easier to break out of? But then you wouldn't really have a story, so that's cool. I also get that the first 10 seconds of the film is to put you on edge and keep you guessing about what's going to happen, but I also think it is pretty unnecessary, it's a cheap gimmick.

And then, as events are unravelling, you see the cops closing in on him... Come on, as I said: we know how it ends. But a bit of tension is cool. Because breaking someone out of prison is not tense enough. But, hey: the cops do close in on him. Now they're running for their lives. Let's not think of what would happen to the kid if both parents got shot by the cops. But then it becomes a classic chase sequence, reminding me of 'The Fugitive,' right down to the parade.

I really loved, in fact it's my favorite scene of the whole film, Dennehy saying goodbye to Crowe, worthy of a great moment in cinema. Or it would have been if the scene had ended there without the wife going: 'You're getting sentimental in your old age.' Just so that dumb fucks in audiences would go: 'Oh, okay, they don't always say good bye like that.'
I hate idiots. They ruin everything. And it seems everything is being written for them lately.

One last thing... Once, he almost gets caught at the prison and he pukes later, which is understandable. But then he's in a real chase and he's calm and under control? Really?

So, yeah: I was entertained, not blown away, except for the supporting cast. Also, it felt about 20 minutes too long (with more cheap gimmicks, well: pretty predictable ones if not cheap; and we of course have to be shown whether she is really guilty or not. Not that it matters at this point anyway. And the cops go back to the scene of the crime, which is a nice scene (a nice film scene, not crime scene), albeit a bit pointless, but it's Haggis fighting against the clichés). But, as I said: I was entertained, and on a Monday night, I can think of worse things to be.