The Next Three Days Review

I watched this last week, so thought it was about time that i sat down and wrote about it.

The Next Three Days is the about the story of a man (Russel Crowe) whos wife (Elizabeth Banks) has been arrested on suspicion of murdering her boss following an argument at work. Crowe's character then sets about proving her innocence, but as this fails due to the overwhelming evidence against her, he sets out to break her out of prison. Seeking the advice of a criminal (Liam Neeson) who has escaped prison 7 times, he learns how quickly the police can shut off roads, intersections, train stations and airports.

Elizabeth Banks shows her potential for a leading lady with a convincing performance of a woman who has lost everything. We see her go from being a loving mother and wife, who takes a photo of her family every morning before work, to being a shadow of her former self as she is locked in prison, with a son who doesn't talk to her, and a husband who blames himself for their son being bulleyed at school.

Crowe is equally successful in his role as the husband who is desperate to free his wife from prison, so much so that he risks his own freedom to do so. Throwing caution out of the window he too loses his way from being a good father, to just being someone with one goal, regardless of the consequences.

Liam Neeson, although only a short cameo, plays the part of an escaped criminal excellently. His dark performance serves to enhance the desperate nature of Crowe's endeavour.

My major complaint with this film is that it felt long at just over 2 hours long, with parts of the story feeling dragged out and unnecessary. Also i had a numb ass by the end, but i'll put that more down to the rubbish chairs of Odeon rather than the film!

Overall it was a good film, if a little long