Review of The Next Three Days (2010) by Albert K — 25 Jun 2012

Possible spoilers found here.

"The Next Three Days" presents itself with a bold moral view that challenges viewers with a difficult moral code to live by-- in particular, a man that is willing to risk everything for the sake of his spouse that is spending life in prison. It's definitely a courageous act when done under the umbrella of the law, but is it okay if you step outside into the rain? The film does touch upon the question, but half way through, you see where Paul Haggis, the writer and director, sides with: he embraces this moral viewpoint, no matter what the circumstances may be -- even if it leads to taking human lives and compromising the utmost important of laws. Haggis embraces this morale as a righteous, upright, and good act, even when the wife rightfully deserves it. It's a mess and it left me having a disgust towards the message of the movie. The worst part about it? At the end, "The Next Three Days" tries to tie it all off as if Russell Crowe's actions was the best possible decision one could make at such an occasion.

At a technical standpoint, "The Next Three Days" is made with adequate technicalities, but the void between the transition of one technical method to another is lacking and sloppy. It's like an amateur that read up on all the things that make a movie a technically sound and cobbling them all up, resulting in an uneven and choppy motion picture. Russell Crowe does a commendable job but Elizabeth Banks was considerably lacking in the acting department. Some of the emotional scenes that demanded raw emotion to spew forth from her was not believable nor convincing. That's not to say that there are harrowing scenes, especially in the third act of the movie where the planning of the breakout comes to fruition, but before then, it's overly extended which hurts the pacing of the film. Was it an entertaining time? Sure, but it's hardly gonna be a memorable one.

"The Next Three Days" is an effective thriller that exudes some of the most aggravatingly abominable moralistic teaching since recent filmmaking. Yeah, it's not like, "Let's embrace murder!", but it's the sly persuasive undertones that the film pitches at viewers is what's so bothersome. Films that compromise upright living such as this is one of the few aspectual reasons as to why children grow up with such flawed paradigms, because it embraces how no matter how you may feel, it's okay as long as it's a "righteous" act such as rescuing your loved one.