The Next Three Days Review

• 30th Dec 2010

Russell Crowe heads up Paul Haggis’ latest directorial venture in this thriller about a man obsessed with breaking his wife out of jail so that they can be together and raise their only child.

Seems a bit far-fetched (which it is) and perhaps, is perfect for a big Hollywood star to take on in an OTT type thriller. But as this comes courtesy of Paul Haggis we are actually delivered a thriller that is as close to the ground as possible and yet still manages to be far-fetched. Surprisingly, it is really below the level of the talent involved; especially the acting talent.

The cast manage this material with ease, yet are unable to cover up the fact that it really isn’t as engaging a subject as it appears on paper. It is also the kind of small time film you expect to see on TV, not at your local multiplex.

Liam Neeson pops up in a cameo as an expert on the subject and sets Crowe’s family man on his way to setting up the perfect breakout. From there onwards it’s a case of delivering an ‘on the move’ finale that doesn’t rest. The sequence is fairly well engineered and edited yet, you are so far ahead of even Crowe’s mind that you pretty much know what the beats are in the action.

This basically should be on the bottom of your list for films to see. Not because it is bad, but just because it really isn’t that great. If you are out of other options then this should engage for a couple of hours. It’s a workmanlike film with far too much effort put into it. The film got more than it deserved but the people who worked on it have got so much less out of it.

Steven Hurst