The Next Three Days Movie Review…

The Next Three Days, based on the French film Pour Elleis the story of Pittsburgh couple John (Crowe) and Lara Brennan (Banks). John and Lara live in what can only be described as domestic bliss judging by the opening shots. That tranquility is disturbed by charges of murder against Lara. The evidence is strong but John doesn’t know if he can be while raising Luke (Simpkins) without his mother.

After three long years of trying to prove that his wife didn’t murder her boss, John comes to the conclusion that he may have to seek justice through alternative means. Those alternative means come in the form of a beguiling ex-con (Neeson) recruited to help John free his wife from jail. But he warns John that breaking her free is far easier than keeping her out, which will require ruthless violence and a ton of cash.

With that, we now know that The Next Three Days has the unlikely distinction of being a pseudo-prison break film and a heist without the valuables. Most of the film follows John as he travels to great lengths to do what’s necessary to save his wife, who has become somewhat suicidal.

Throughout The Next Three Days we see John’s descent into darkness as he maps out the escape route for the prison break, secures phony passports from local Pittsburgh criminals, and even learns how to make a skeleton key. But this film really gets going when John finds out that Lara will be transferred to another prison within The Next Three Days (hence the title) and his plan takes on a decidedly dark twist.

As an academic completely out of his element, Crowe’s John is skillful and nimble as he maneuvers through one sticky situation after another. Detailing John’s fall into darkness is what gives The Next Three Days its teeth. More than watching a man desperately trying to reverse a miscarriage of justice, The Next Three Days chronicles this man’s endurance and perseverance to take on situations far way from the ivory towers of academia.

Although The Next Three Days keeps a respectful similarity to Pour Elle, it did not maintain the same time. More than 30 minutes longer than the original, the only thing that I can truly complain about in this film is the curiously long runtime. A movie employing the ticking-clock flashback would be well served for the clock not to tick for more than 2 hours. Don’t get me wrong, some films like Avatar deserved an elephantine running time, but unfortunately there wasn’t quite enough action to bear it out in The Next Three Days.

The big problem with the running time of The Next Three Days is that by extending the story the viewer is allowed time to poke the many tiny flaws in this film. Rather than racing through the events in a manner that allows the audience to recover just in time for the next round of action, The Next Three Days simply throws feasibility problems and unbelievably lucky timing at the viewer at a tortoise’s pace.

At times in The Next Three Days the filmmaker flirts with the idea that perhaps Lara actually is guilty using black-and-white flashbacks, but it’s a commonly used ploy to try and infuse more drama and suspense in a film where that drama and suspense is lacking. The Next Three Days was much better than this haphazard attempt at film trickery.

Where The Next Three Days gets it right is during the last 30 minutes or so when it’s time for the long awaited prison break. Instead of a slow paced film that meanders between drama and thriller, The Next Three Days turns into quite the urban jungle. There’s a chase down in the subway, a downtown escape, and a quick glimpse of the Pittsburgh Zoo. The muted tones add to the theme of urgency and darkness evident throughout The Next Three Days.

Despite the fact that I expected more from The Next Three Days I found it to be mostly enjoyable. If you’re not a fan of European cinema or simply haven’t seen Pour Elle, the chances are great that you’ll be sucked right in by Crowe’s rugged determination in The Next Three Days. While there are a few problems with the heavy-handed dialogue, it isn’t enough to take away from the experience of the film.

Make no mistakes either, Crowe is the star of The Next Three Days, not Banks, and he turns in another solid performances that audiences will appreciate. It was a nice change of pace to see Banks playing something other than hot or hilarious and although she did want for screen time, she showed that she has what it takes to grasp darker roles.

The Next Three Days is an average remake that most viewers will like, but very few will love. Watch the trailer for The Next Three Days for a glimpse of the action.

The Next Three Days Movie Trailer

“Father of a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife and I shall have my vengeance in this life or the next..”

That kinda explains the entire plot.

A general from Spain, Maximus (Russell Crowe), brave and respected by his soldiers has won the emperor’s heart. Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) is dying and prepares to let Maximus rule Rome to solve all the social problems caused by way too many wars and a lot of corruption in the Senate.

There is a problem to the plan though, named Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who happens to be the emperor’s son and the logical successor to the throne. When Marcus Aurelius makes Maximus the protector of Rome, Commodus takes matters in his hands and kills his old father, while trying to murder Maximus too. The general somehow escapes and heads towards home, to see if his family is OK and save them from the new emperor’s fury.

When he arrives to his lands he finds the home burnt down and his wife and son murdered by the emperor’s soldiers. He’s then captured and sold in North Africa as a slave to Proximo (Oliver Reed), thus becoming a gladiator.

Commodus is now back in Rome, trying to serve his people “bread and circus”, to distract the population from hunger and plague. He un-bans the gladiators’ fights in the Colosseum and Maximus is brought to fight there too, with his team of gladiators.

From now on you can imagine what happens in the entire movie, I will not spoil it for you.

Even if the plot is dead easy and the movies is far from being perfect, there are still aspects that made it a good one. The Rome scenes have been shot in a “plaster like” surrounding, history contradicts some of the things presented in the movie, the entire plot is similar to any blockbuster movie with a hero with a huge gun in his hands, killing everything in his way. Still, Gladiator has something that justifies in the end all the awards and nominations it has received.

The filming is “gloomy” all through the movie. This has made some critics displeased with the idea, but in the end I think it best conveys the pain and dangers such a person had to face. The movie speaks about love, family and heroism. Maximus is well respected by his armies, he’s been a true hero and Rome could have dreamed for no better protector than him. He was a good loving husband and great father, but treachery destroyed his life.

And another thing that made me watch it for 3 times already is the MUSIC.

This movie has got an amazing soundtrack, created by Lisa Gerard (Dead Can Dance) and Hans Zimmer. And since almost all critics failed to notice the amazing music it had, I’ll invite you to listen to the title song “Now We Are Free”

Our Robin here is not the legend, or not just yet. The entire story is set before he became the legendary outcast, living in Sherwood with his brave friends. He just came back from the Third Crusade, trying to enter England by pretending to be one of Richard Lionheart‘s knights. On his real name Robin Longstride, he’s trying to fulfill the dying wish of Robert of Locksley, the one who had to take Richard’s crown and the news of the brave king’s death back to England. He’s being murdered by Godfrey, King John’s “right arm” and found while still breathing by Robin and his men.

So Robin takes on his identity and then travels to Nottingham to give Robert’s father the sword used by him in the Crusades. Walter, the knight’s father, encourages him to keep on impersonating his late son, so that they can prevent their lands from being confiscated by the crown. Maid Marion (Cate Blanchett) is not a maid in the first place, but already a wife, and there’s nothing ‘maiden’ about her, especially when she’s threatening to cut his “pride” with the dagger, if he chooses to act “manly” near her.

In the mean time, Godfrey, already an Earl Marshal of England, is plotting an invasion. He’d be the one to weaken the English army, by forcing people to pay even more taxes and burning down the villages where people refuse to give all they can, while the king of France would bring his army into the country and then deliver the last blow to a disgruntled weak army.

The French army lands in a similar scene to Normandy, in World War II, while Robin and his army are prepared to “welcome” them. King John gives a lot of promises, so that the army would follow him and support in the battles and the men proceed to kill everyone they meet on that beach. Russell Crowe is again the “gladiator” fighting and destroying anyone in his way, while Marion joins the battle as a brave soldier prepared to fight for her country.

The battle scenes look amazing and the entire movie is made for the “wow factor”, Ridley Scott proving once again he knows his directing. The character, even if pretty far from the legendary Robin Hood we know, is still enjoyable and the entire movie a pleasing cinema experience.