The Next Three Days Blu-ray Review & Comments

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Reviewed by Cas Harlow, 24th March 2011.
The Next Three Days is a surprisingly enjoyable modern remake of a relatively recent French thriller which arguably didn’t even need to be reworked for a US audience in the first place. All things considered, it is actually quite watchable in its own right, in large part thanks to a solid central performance from Russell Crowe as the everyman hero who will do anything to see his wife freed. I’m still not sure why this remake works, where others clearly don’t, but – despite having watched the French original just a week prior to seeing this new version – I really didn’t have any objections to watching the same story told with a US cast and US locations (as well as a few different twists along the way), and Paul ‘Crash’ Haggis’s adaptation is an eminently professional, if not particularly standout, little thriller.

On Region A-locked US Blu-ray we get decent video presentation and exceptional audio, as well as a hefty selection of fairly comprehensive extras which should please any fans of the film; and who would be advised to pick up this release. Would I recommend the French original, Pour Elle, over and above this remake? Yes, but I don’t think that the situation is mutually exclusive – I think you’ll find a reason to enjoy both versions, just as much as you’ll find reasons to dislike both versions. The Next Three Days isn’t distinctly memorable, and will never be lauded as a ‘great’ thriller, but it’s good enough Saturday night fare, and certainly worth a rental.


Read the full review...
 
You frustrate me Mr Harlow. :(

I am always irritated by the fact that you judge remakes on their predecessors. Fair enough some are shameless cash grabs, like Let me In, but the quality of the film itself should not be based on the fact that they are remakes.

I score Let the Right One In 9/10 and Let me In 8/10. Simply because I thought one was a better film in itself, not because I compared the 2. I thought you were unfairly harsh in your review of LMI because you constantly picked on things that you preferred in the original and I also think you prefer the original simply because it was the original rather than because it was actually worse.

So once I have got used to the fact that any remake you review will automatically start of with a -2 before anything else.

What went wrong here? A fair review that didn't automatically condemn the film because someone else did it first?

:laugh:
;)

Sorry if I sounded too harsh, it's just a little bug of mine. I do enjoy your reviews!
 
Lol, I'm sorry it sounds like I pre-judge movies because they are remakes, perhaps my reviews come across that way because I've seen too many bad remakes (particularly this year!) to hold back about them, but I honestly try to come to each successive title with a fresh pair of eyes.

With Let Me In, I had just seen the original (as with Next 3 Days) and, after seeing the remake, I felt that there was absolutely no point in its existence. I wanted to like it, I liked the cast, and had high hopes based on the cinema review from a fellow reviewer, but it didn't turn out that way. I hated it, and so I criticised it yet more because I felt that a bad movie is made yet worse when it is a totally unnecessary remake, and further when it overshadows a better, and relatively recent, original.

When it came to The Tourist, I'd never seen the original, and so I could only criticise it for being bad in its own right. If I'd seen the original - and liked it - then maybe my review would have turned out much like the one for Let Me In.

With I Spit on your Grave, I actually watched the 2010 film first, and I still found it to be a horrendous waste of time, so, after then watching the original, I explained how the 2010 was another pointless remake (you'll note that my reviews were actually done in chronological order, rather than order of watching).

Now Next 3 Days, despite my having seen the original, was still remarkably enjoyable in its own right, and that's why I related that fact. Hopefully the review will go to show that I am slightly more open-minded than it may sometimes seem. I do honestly hope to enjoy every movie I review - otherwise I wouldn't ask to review them in the first place!

Glad you like (most) of my reviews though!

Cheers, Cas
 
Great review.

I really enjoyed the French original, although I didn't think it was amazing. Sounds like it's worth checking this out too. Crowe movies are usually pretty reliably entertaining...

Thanks :thumbsup:

PS. Agree about the tourist, terrible movie.
 

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