Director Paul Haggis teams up with Russell Crowe to deliver the jailbreak thriller The Next Three Days.
Heres Lukes review…
Theyre back.
For a moment, I thought theyd gone, a bygone marketing tool consigned to the scrap heap.
What do we need real people for nowadays?
Weve got computers and stuff.
Its filled with the usual people.
Smiley, happy people.
Shouldnt you be worried about VAT and jobs and potholes, like the rest of us?
Youve got films to watch, cameras to talk to.
Come on, thats just lazy.
You must have watched a differentPassenger 57.
Theyre a good fit here.
Russell Crowe loves his wife, she loves him, but did she really murder that poor woman?
Not selling it so far, am I?
No wonder Im never picked for those TV adverts.
The Next Three Dayspretty much leads up to one big event, Crowe breaking his wife out of jail.
What Haggis does brilliantly is make the setup just as interesting and dramatic as the break-out itself.
Maybe he was saving it all up for here.
State Of Playshowed that he could turn the star wattage down and play hangdog.
For that moment he wasnt Maximus or an actor who threw a phone at someone.
He was a normal guy fearing for his life.
There are laughs dotted plentifully around.
One, following the films special effect blow-out, is a perfectly timed raised hand by Crowe.
Yet the film goes to some dark places, and doesnt always come back from them.
Dont let those adverts put you off.The Next Three Daysis far better than its advertising campaign.
The Next Three Days is in UK cinemas from today, January 5th.
Rating:
4 out of 5
