“The Next Three Days” Trailer a Bit of a Headscratcher

Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks star in "The Next Three Days," writer-director Paul Haggis' remake of a French thriller about a man who tries to break his wife out of prison.

Diane Kruger, every film nerd's favorite European hottie, starred in the 2008 original "Pour Elle," the debut work from writer-director Fred Cavaye.

The trailer for "The Next Three Days," which co-stars Liam Neeson, Brian Dennehy, Olivia Wilde and RZA, is here and frankly we've got some questions:

  • A woman is wrongly imprisoned and her husband decides to risk his life and, if necessary, "leave (his) kid at a gas station," to break her out of jail? Are we supposed to be cool with that? Anyone with a spouse and a kid can tell you that the surest way to end your marriage is to ditch your kid at a gas station -- it's an automatic deal-breaker.
  • If Russell Crowe doesn't know how to load a gun, how on Earth is he gonna manage to bust his wife out of prison? Honestly, if you haven't got the basic skill set of a stick-up man, what makes you think you can get yourself and your wife out of a prison?
  • Who's managing Elizabeth Banks' career? She's got that rare combination of comedic chops and looks that should've made her a star by now, but instead she's following up her turn in "The Uninvited" by playing a distant-second-banana to Russell Crowe.
  • Why do movie studios put teasers for "thenextthreedaysmovie.com" when the only thing there is a splash page and a link back to Yahoo to watch the trailer? This nonsense needs to stop -- did the release of this trailer sneak up on them? Could they not be bothered to simply embed the trailer on their own site?
  • Why was this film set in Pittsburgh? One of the nation's great underrated cities, with a gorgeous baseball stadium, beautiful architecture, some great art museums, an awesome funicular and lovely countryside in all directions -- and star of a major-motion picture?
  • Paul Haggis was the creative force behind "Walker, Texas Ranger" OK, not really a question, but something to think about.

"The Next Three Days" arrives Nov. 19.

Contact Us