Film review: 'The Next Three Days'

Writing a review without spoilers is incredibly hard, depending on the film. Obviously, it's not hard to abbreviate your thoughts on a film and keep it condensed to face value opinions only. But for some films, the most interesting, or, adversely, least interesting, aspects of the film can lie in important plot details. 'The Next Three Days' is one of those films. The first hour and a half is superb. The final half hour or so, where the plot starts concluding in an unsatisfactory manner, is hugely disappointing. So, to explain this all without spoilers is going to be hard. But I like a challenge, so...

Written and directed by Oscar-winning auteur Paul Haggis ('Crash', 'Million Dollar Baby', two films I've never seen), 'The Next Three Days' appears to be a fairly simple thriller. A man, John Brennan's (Russell Crowe), wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks) is imprisoned for a murder she may or may not have committed, so he plans to spring her from prison and stay in hiding. Nothing new there, except for perhaps the fact that it's a woman who's been accused of the crime, but obviously, she's a weak, powerless female, so she can't escape from prison herself like Harrison Ford would, she has to get her man to do it. I'm attempting satire by the way, not revelling in misogyny. Anyway, plot-wise this is all very conventional, but what delights about the first two acts of this film is the emphasis on characters, the emotional impact of the wife's incarceration, and just how the hell our protagonist is going to get her out of prison. We get some nice character building, as we see Lara's deteriorating state in prison, and the lengths that John is prepared to go to in order to break her out. The focus on the technicalities of a prison break also impress, with Liam Neeson popping up in a brilliant cameo as an ex-con who managed to escape from prison multiple times. He delivers a beautiful monologue, detailing the dangers of attempting an escape and ultimately concluding that the chances of getting away with it are slim to none.

So far, so good. And it really is all very impressive, endlessly engaging and a little deeper than the rest of its ilk. So we get to the main star of the show; the prison break. It starts off all very good, with the actual breakout very tense and kinetically edited. But after that point, the film just seems to stop. Our central couple are still on the run. But the film switches to an uncomfortably lumbering pace, which suited the early stages of the movie, but at this point can only jar the audience. Every character seems to make irrational decisions, coincidence and luck all seem to fit conveniently into the final plot stretches, and a use of poor CGI is both distracting and unnecessary. No, I wasn't disappointed because there was a lack of car crashes and explosions and fights. This isn't that kind of movie, and would have been just as bad, tonally (albeit probably more entertaining). I was disappointed because the film goes in the opposite direction, when it shouldn't really have to go in either direction. Instead of being over-the-top silly, it's just serious silly, and feels poorly judged, especially considering how the first three quarters of the film are gritty and, whilst mildly overblown in places, feel mostly grounded in reality. The very last shot of the film hints at something darker and provides an appropriate coda after what's just happened. But, I also feel that the plot shouldn't have gotten to the stage where it was the only fitting way to end it.

So, yeah, I've probably spoiled the film accidentally if you read between all the lines. And my sincerest apologies if I have. But it shouldn't matter anyway, because the first two acts of the film are the most vital part, not the finale. It's a shame that it has to end on a low note, and it's never BAD, just disappointing after what has preceded it. On the upside, I like to think that the film has started a trend of idiots trying and failing to open locked car doors using hollowed-out tennis balls. I can but dream...

3/5