The Next Three Days (2010)
Average Rating: 5.9/10
Reviews Counted: 161
Fresh: 83 | Rotten: 78
Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks give it their all, but their solid performances aren't quite enough to compensate for The Next Three Days' uneven pace and implausible plot.
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 20
Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks give it their all, but their solid performances aren't quite enough to compensate for The Next Three Days' uneven pace and implausible plot.
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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 49,013
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Movie Info
His wife convicted of a murder she swears she did not commit, a college professor plots to break her out of prison in this thriller starring Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson. John Brennan (Crowe) and his wife, Lara (Elizabeth Banks), were happily married and raising a family when their lives fell apart in the blink of an eye. Lara has been charged with murder, and despite every effort to prove her innocence, the judge sentences her to an extended prison sentence. Meanwhile, on the outside, John
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Cast
-
Russell Crowe
John Brennan -
Elizabeth Banks
Lara Brennan -
Liam Neeson
Damon Pennington -
Brian Dennehy
George Brennan -
Olivia Wilde
Nicole -
Lennie James
Lieutenant Nabulsi -
Aisha Hinds
Detective Collero -
Daniel Stern
Meyer Fisk -
RZA
Mouss -
Ty Simpkins
Luke -
Helen Carey
Grace Brennan -
Kevin Corrigan
Alex -
Jason Beghe
Detective Quinn -
Tyrone Giordano
Mike -
Jonathan Tucker
David -
Allan Steele
Sergeant Harris -
Moran Atias
Erit -
Michael Buie
Mick Brennan -
Trudie Styler
Dr. Byrdie Lifson -
Remy Nozik
Jenna -
Leslie Merrill
Elizabeth Gesas -
Derek Cecil
Dr. Becsey -
Kaitlyn Wylde
Julie -
Lauren Haggis
Lyla -
James Ransone
Harv -
Denise Dal Vera
Eugenie -
Nazanin Boniadi
Elaine -
Brenna McDonough
Brenda -
Veronica Brown
Female Guard 1 -
Lisa Ann Goldsmith
Female Guard 2 -
Glenn Taranto
Hospital Security Guard -
Toby Green
Three Year Old Luke -
Tyler Green
Three Year Old Luke -
James Donis
Prison Major -
Rachel Deacon
Duty Nurse -
Zachary Sondrini
Photoshop Kid -
Etta Cox
Notary -
Barry D. Bradford
Jail Guard (Entry Hall) -
Rick Warner
County Jail Captain -
James Francis Kelly III
Lab Van Driver -
Jeff Hochendoner
Alex's Thug Buddy -
Quantia Mali
Phone Operator -
David Flick
Male Nurse -
Fabio Polanco
Phone Repairman -
Sean Huze
Prison Guard -
Jonathan Berry
Prison Guard -
Tamara Gorski
Hospital Nurse -
Patrick Brennan
Hospital Guard -
Kathy Fitzgerald
Neighbor -
Tom Quinn
Elderly Man -
Melissa Jackson
Air Canada Clerk -
Patrick F. McDade
Airport Security Chief
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The Next Three Days Trailer & Photos
All Critics (162) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (85) | Rotten (78) | DVD (8)
Even with an actor of Crowe's skill, it's hard to believe the mild, thoughtful John would take to the mean streets of Pittsburgh for fake IDs, blast his way into drug houses and such.
Top CriticIn the third act, both Haggis and his actors kick it into high gear, leading to a breathless chase sequence, the outcome of which is unpredictable to the last moments.
In its final half-hour, all the stops are pulled. The movie is still wildly implausible but at least it's hurtling forward.
The movie is a caper without playfulness or wit -- it's accomplished but not much fun.
It's laughably, eye-rollingly absurd, so you don't watch it and wonder, "Hey, why not?" You endure it and wonder, "So ... why did they do that?"
An okay thriller with lots of smart flourishes, The Next Three Days has us hooked early on but never quite gets us in the boat
This is Crowe's movie to carry and he does it with an earthy realism that reminds of the actor he is beneath the persona.
The Next Three Days is kind of a throwback to the classic action movies Hollywood put out in the mid-nineties - the 'one man versus the world' era of thrillers, in which lantern-jawed heroes fight to save their family against improbable odds
It's the kind of edge of your seat thriller that leaves you in constant suspense of how the situation will resolve.
Managing to overcome the contrivances and implausibilities of the storyline, The Next Three Days succeeds through the sheer verisimilitude of the performances and direction.
...The most effective scenes employ the Hitchcockian maxim that you can show a couple kissing for as long as you like provided there's a bomb under the bed. Haggis has plenty of bombs and plenty of beds to put them under.
If it didn't feel like the movie took three days to get through, this could have been a pretty good thriller.
If I actually gave out star ratings or numerical scores, this one would be right on the fine line between pass and fail.
This movie is from fancy Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis. In other words, you're supposed to take it all as seriously as he does. You may find that challenging.
The suspense isn't just dramatic. It's emotional.
Occasionally preposterous and bogged down by Haggis' usual lack of subtlety, but the film is also captivating and energetic, particularly during the thrilling final act.
Haggis somehow pulls off a delicate balancing act -- a gravity-bound fantasy scenario -- showing us John's desperate, dark, human need while playing out made-for-movie scenes.
Although no hidden gem, Russell Crowe certainly could've done much worse than filling Mel Gibson's family-man-of-action shoes. And Paul Haggis thankfully shelves his sociology-degree sermonizing for this pure-pulp prison-break thriller.
The Next Three Days is Paul Haggis's best film so far, and he has the potential to make a better one yet if he ever decides to truly engage his characters'-or his-darker impulses.
Audience Reviews for The Next Three Days
Super Reviewer
One of this film's strongest elements is it's well made script. It takes it's time with characters and makes us care about them. The effect is pretty impressive, because in the final third when the film shifts it's gear into something more closer to an action-thriller, we really do care about these people and their fates.
Haggis comes close to going over the top with some scenes at times, but mostly he handles the action and tension quite well. One of this film's strongest aspects is also well nuanced lead performance from Russel Crowe which suits this film perfectly. His portrait of a desperate man in a mission to safe his possibly innocent wife is possibly his best work on screen to date.
The Next Three Days is not a perfect film and has some major flaws with logic but it is a wonderful example of well made entertainment.
Super Reviewer
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- Prison Guard: You walk out that door with him and you'll both be dead.
- John Brennan: Shut up! [duct tapes the guard's mouth]
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- Damon Pennington: No prison in the world is airtight.
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- Lara Brennan: I don't think I can last another twenty years...
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- Damon Pennington: No prison in the world is airtight.
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- John Brennan: So, "The Life and Times of Don Quixote," what is it about?
- Julie: That someone's belief in virtue is more important than virtue itself.
- John Brennan: Yeah, that's in there. What else is it about? ...Could it be about how rational thought destroys the soul? The triumph of irrationality, and the power that is in it...Now we spend a lot of time trying to organize the world. We build clocks and calendars and we try to predict the weather, but what part of our life is truly under our control? What if we choose to exist in a reality of our own making, does that render us insane; and if so - isn't that better than a life of despair?
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Latest News on The Next Three Days
November 19, 2010:
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September 29, 2010:
Russell Crowe and Paul Haggis Load Up for The EqualizerPaul Haggis and Russell Crowe could follow up "The Next Three Days" by reuniting for a film...
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Foreign Titles
- 72 Stunden - The Next Three Days (DE)
- Les Trois prochains jours (FR)
