By Christy Lemire
The Associated Press
The main dynamic you have to accept in “The Next Three Days” — the one that the entire story, all the drama, all the risk hinge upon — is that Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks actually belong together.
Always strong individually, they make no sense as a couple. Chalk it up to miscasting, a lack of chemistry, whatever: It’s simply too hard to buy them as husband and wife. And that’s a problem, since it undermines our ability to become emotionally immersed in the life-threatening danger in which they find themselves.
As a result, Paul Haggis’ thriller, based on the 2008 French film “Anything for Her,” ends up feeling even more implausible than it might have. A couple of thrilling chase sequences in the film’s third act and intense moments within Crowe’s and Banks’ performances, as well as one great scene involving Liam Neeson, unfortunately can’t salvage the whole endeavor.