Review of The Next Three Days (2010) by Jordan E — 14 May 2012

"Show me where the bullets go.".

Synopsis: When his wife is sent to jail on murder charges she fervently denies, college professor John Brennan comes up with a meticulous plan for the ultimate prison escape -- even though he's never committed a crime in his life.

For every Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, or Christopher Nolan in Hollywood that have earned enough prestige to do their own thing, there are ten nobody directors. Men/Women whom don't really have the luxury to engage in personal projects, they make the films that are offered. The Next Three Days is most likely one of those kinds of pictures.

It's the kind of film that doesn't have any chance of being anything more than what it was designed to be, it's likely not even Spielberg or Nolan could help this picture achieve more. But such facts doesn't automatically turn this picture into fodder for cows. No, there are plenty of elements here to appreciate. Chief among them is the fact that the action sequences work, maybe not impressively so, but they most certainly provide some adrenaline. Also, Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks both turn in admirable performances here, and although the material they are given restricts them somewhat, their collective warmth helps soften the film's cold instincts.

Though it's little more than the calculated machine dispatched by studios to tide them over till they have something more substantial, fine performances and solid action makes it hard for me to give this one a thumbs down.