The Next Three Days

The Next Three Days is a great thriller that will have you guessing throughout the movie. this was a movie that I wanted to see from the moment I saw from the first trailer, but somehow I never got around to seeing it in the theater. The story line is a cross between The Fugitive and a human heist plot movie. There were moments where I genuinely really didn't know which way the story would end. For a good thriller this is exactly what someone wants in a movie that will keep you in suspense throughout.

Russell Crowe is a pretty reliable star, who commands the screen with intelligence and enough bravado to getaway with a film like this. Crowe makes this film work because he is giving his best, scene after scene as his eyes tells us his character is committed to his family and that he will stand by them no matter what. There is very little back story given to us, except for an opening sequence which serves the purpose of planting the seed of doubt in our minds, but what this truly does his only fuel the sense of despair and sadness that threatens to destroy his family. The thing that makes his portrayal work is the tension that he has in all of his different relationships with everyone and any new relationships are threatened by his wife's past. It is this intense passion into these personal moments that truly make us care for him, even though this requires him to make some very questionable things.

Elizabeth Banks portrayal of Lara was spot on what was needed. I was pleasantly surprised at her acting capabilities because I had never seen her in a serious role but always in comedies. Her portrayal through her scenes were exactly what was needed. We truly feel her despair the moment her appeal is denied from the sadness she has due to the ignoring she receives from her son.

Liam Neeson in his quick role as a man who successfully broke out of prison seven times. The Neeson character gives important advice in reference to the time it takes for authorities to seal off a city's exits, but also gives insight into what his plan should include – "You have to have the entire plan already in place. And you have to ask yourself, can you kill a guard, leave your kid at a gas station…cause to do this thing, that's what you have to become." This advice is a great way to set up some important points in the film in a way other then Crowe's character looking it up from the Internet.

The ever twisting screenplay shows Haggis' knack for writing scripts that don't allow audiences to get too far ahead of the story developments as unexpected and plausible scenarios affect even the best laid out of plans. This may leave lesser minded moviegoers wondering why certain scenes were not left on the cutting room floor, but for those engrossed in the ongoing struggle of John's pursuit should appreciate the occasional red herring. There are so many movies out there which one can see the ending come from a mile away, it is refreshing to see a thriller of a movie where we can not see the end until right as it happens.

There are moments in the movie that really get the story moving.The opening scene could have been satisfactory if all it did was to set the stage for what is to follow, but it does so much more. A women with a plunging neckline spars with Lara, a more modestly dressed woman, about whether or not women can ever get over their competition over men and bond with each other. The scene demonstrates its contents: as the other woman uses double entendres to make a pass at Lara's husband, and Lara shows the audience she is quite capable of losing her temper, an important plot point. The brilliant writing in this scene is a bonus.

The Next Three Days does a great job giving the audience exactly what people who go to movies want. It allows you to not have to think hard, but you can just enjoy the story that is being told on screen. I am giving The Next Three Days three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. I would have probably favored it with more buckets but I felt the ending was a little blah after the intensity and great moments of uncertainty throughout the movie. This is though a movie that I would love to watch again and again. I will be adding this to the Movie collection for our family at some point.

-The Movie Man