"The Next Three Days," a remake of the 2007 French film "Pour Elle," stars Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks in an interesting but slightly involved look at "How to Break Your Wife Out of Prison and Flee the Country with a Small Child in Tow."
When Lara Brenan (Banks) is imprisoned for murder, her family is devastated and her young son becomes emotionally distant. Believing his wife's innocence and trying to repair their lives, John Brenan (Crowe) hatches a detailed plot to get his wife out of prison. Consulting a seven-time prison escapee and author (Liam Neeson), Brenan buys fake passports, falsifies medical documents, and resorts to robbery; all to save his wife. Though there are bumbling errors along the way, John Brenan is able to elude detection until the last day comes.
Under the direction of "Crash's" Paul Haggis, the film's greatest benefit, and the greatest credit to its leads, is the emotional detail of a family in crisis. One can believe this to be a relationship under incredible stress: not only from John to Lara but also between John and his parents. Though he keeps it together, John Brenan believes everyone, in one way or another, doubts his wife and has given up hope for her freedom. Reality would largely support him, the court case seems hopeless and his family and friends look to prepare him for a life without her. However, even when confronted with a possible new relationship, John is firmly devoted to his wife. This alone would be enough for a compelling film but regardless of everything, Russell Crowe must be an action hero.
The viewer must admit that Crowe's skills seem to appear out of thin air and his, by and large, success is incredible along with many things in this film. Employed as a community college professor, Crowe becomes a commando for the love of his life. With painstaking research and planning worthy of a beautiful mind, he does more damage than a military assault team while frustrating even his most competent trackers.
To be honest, it is implausible and some would say the movie fumbles for it but no one will say it isn't fun. The scene in which Lara Brenan opens her door on a busy highway in pure desperation is gratuitous, but it does not fail to bring the message that this is an action film.
Though "The Next Three Days" suffers from the jarring disconnect between everyday drama and superhero gymnastics, it will leave some movie-goers satisfied and others picking out their favorite high-voltage scene.
