The Next Three Days – movie review

Who doesn’t enjoy a good prison break movie? That’s the whole reason that I wanted to see The Next Three Days. While I was expecting a movie that was par for the course, this movie exceeded my expectations.

The Next Three Days was a lot more exciting than I thought it would be. It makes you question Lara’s innocence the whole time. You think she did it, then you don’t think she did it, then you don’t know what to think. Then you question John’s sanity, but once there’s no turning back, you wonder if he’s going to get away with it, and nothing about escaping comes easily. I was at the edge of my seat for the entire movie, and it had a great pay off. The Next Three Days had everything, too, including robberies, meth labs, shoot outs, fires, and a children’s birthday party with the worst timing.

I enjoyed the camera work on this movie. There were only action shots when there needed to be, and shakiness was minimized to one running scene. This lead to excellent pacing in the movie. There was a clear difference between everything being fine and when the characters were in danger of something. The camera angles also allowed for sneakiness throughout the movie, leading to reveals that show just how crafty John is.

Russell Crowe really drove the movie. We saw everything through his character John Brennan’s eyes. We believed his wife’s innocence just because he believed in it, and when he decided to break his wife out of prison, we wanted him to succeed whether or not his wife really did commit the murder. He is one of those rare characters whose motives we never seem to question because we truly understand why he’s doing what he’s doing, and Russell Crowe did an excellent job bringing John to life.

I am normally not the biggest Elizabeth Banks fan, but I liked her performance as Lara Brennan. Her biggest concern was always her family. It broke her heart when her son wouldn’t kiss her, and when she was going to be transferred, she was willing to say anything to stop her husband from worrying himself. Though you do find yourself questioning whether or not she actually did kill her boss, you never wonder if she’s a good person, and you hope that she gets out.

Jason Beghe plays Detective Quinn in the movie. I like Detective Quinn because he is not the stereotypical “doesn’t give a crap” detective that you find in movies. Even though he’s one of the officers to arrest Lara, and is working to try to stop the Brennans from getting out of town, he goes back to check Lara’s story from the night of the murder. He wants to make sure he did everything right, and that they didn’t accidentally arrest an innocent woman. I think it helps create conflict because it’s so hard to want a good cop to lose, but he’s up against the protagonist that we really want to win. Jason Beghe did a wonderful job in portraying Detective Quinn.

Brian Dennehy played George Brennan, John’s father, and he did a great job of it. George is a no-nonsense kind of guy, but crafty. He has my favorite moment in the movie, when the cops question him about John’s plans and he honestly says that John never told him anything – but yet is still lying. He never vocally expresses emotions, either, but it’s always obvious in his actions. George is an enjoyable character to watch.

Overall, The Next Three Days is a pretty good movie. It’s always exciting, and it’s fun to watch there on the edge of your seat.  If you’re a fan of prison break movies, you will not be disappointed in this one.