Director Ruined By A Weak Plot

I usually select my movies based on at least one of these three criteria: a director with a great track record; actors who can make a bad movie look good; and word-of-mouth referral by friends and critics alike.

So I was disappointed when I saw The Next Three Days directed by award-winning Canadian director Paul Haggis and featuring Russell Crowe and Elisabeth Banks. I remember when the movie first came out last year, the reviews were bad. But I don't always agree with what the film critics said. For this flick, I should have believed what I read.

The movie itself was not bad so long as you're convinced by the plot. But how could such a ridiculous story line be believable? A jovial community school teacher breaking into prison to save his wrongly accused wife? A dutiful son and a family man suddently turned into a criminal shooting guns and killing dirt-bag drug dealers? Such a plot never connected with the audience, at least not with me.

There was the attention to detail throughout the movie that was surprisingly good - the Canadian coins as a clue for the cops to figure out that the fugitives might be going to Canada, and only a Canadian director could think of that! There was also the smart flashback towards the end of the movie about who the real murderer was. But none of these fine details nor one of the best directors of our era could have saved such a weak plot. It's surprising to see that Haggis wrote the screeplay as well.