ShangLuda
Admirable film.
Invaderbank
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Nicole
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
gtylerpayne
When it comes to thrilling action movies, this one really had it all for me. It is VERY suspenseful, and maintains a good pace throughout. And not only is it thrilling, but it also gave me lots to think about long after the credits rolled.Russell Crowe plays John, a man whose wife is convicted of murder. He is convinced that she is innocent and becomes determined to break her out of jail. This creates a lot of suspenseful situations as soon as he starts to prepare. It got me thinking about a lot of things, including the moral dilemmas John faces.There is a great Liam Neeson cameo where he gives John advice, since he has escaped from prison several times before. He warns John of the intense hurdles and sacrifices he will have to make, so I very quickly realized that the stakes and risk are very high if he goes through with it. The fact that I don't know if the wife is actually innocent or not, adds another layer of depth to the story. I was left trying to decide if John is making the right choice to break her out, which forced me to try and decide if she actually did it. Being so unsure how to feel, it really drew me in, and got me paying attention to every little detail in the movie. Haggis is great at throwing in little clues and nuances in the performances that made me question and re-think things.John is obviously a good guy, so I was rooting for him to succeed, but it is hard to know how to really feel about his character. Russell Crowe is great at playing characters that seem slightly insane, and it's hard to decide just how crazy he really is. They have a son, around 10 years old, and this makes his decisions all the more important. He is risking leaving this kid with both parents in jail if he screws up, but it will also re-unite the kid with his mother, who may be innocent.Overall, it is a very clever movie that is well crafted. The biggest strong point for me is really the script. It's a smart script that is well thought through. I can tell that Haggis understands what the viewer will be thinking and feeling during the experience and he times things perfectly to make for a fun, exciting, and thoughtful experience.Beside the writing, the acting was also very good. Russell Crowe brought a lot of depth to the character. The only criticism I have is that it is somewhat hard to believe that he would actually do this. He seems like a little bit too soft and reserved of a character to do these things, but in a way, that adds to the suspense because it makes us more unsure if he will pull it off. Elizabeth Banks is pretty good as the wife. I'm a little unsure how to feel about her performance. My main problem with her is that I didn't really like her character very much, she comes across as a bitch. I understand why that needs to be an element of her performance, but I would have liked to learn a little more about her positive traits to understand why John loves her so much. I think a few tweaks to her character development and a little more edge to John's character, could have increased how believable the story is. The only other criticism I can think of, is that Haggis clearly is a great writer who understands the story and did a fabulous job directing the actors and their actions, but there is not a lot of creativity or style in the way things were filmed. The camera work and cinematography was mostly pretty straight forward, and I would have liked to see a little more creativity in that department. Maybe some extreme close-ups, or interesting angles and framing. I would have liked to see Haggis hire a cinematographer that brought a little more to the table to make this movie a great visual experience in addition to being a great emotional experience.If you like intense movies that keep you on your toes and give you lots to think about, don't miss this one!
drennan_j
This is the best movie I've seen in 15 years. Maybe the rebel is due for a comeback . . . in the real world. This is the most anti-feminist anti-affirmative action anti-prison-state film of any time. Of course, at least two of those things are recent inventions to be opposed to. The drama and transformation of this protagonist from PW 'nice guy' to brilliant bad-ass is delightfully depicted. This movie is destined to be a classic love story.In terms of movie talk: this film portrays Pittsburgh as a beautiful middle class setting. If you're looking for stoic unhappy family relations then Brian Dennehey and Russell Crowe offer it up in spades. If you like action then just wait a while. And if you like pretty girls then: Elizabeth Banks and Olivia Wilde. Need I say more?
Ole Sandbaek Joergensen
Before watching this I had a thought about it being something like State of Play (2009), in the lights of that this is a bit more dull, this is not a bad movie at all, but it shouldn't be compared or judged before it has been watched.This is a very exciting movie, I could have liked a little more action, but it's great and very clever build up. For me this is not that much of a thriller, maybe it's because I'm not totally clear on the genre Thriller, yes this was exciting at times, but not really thrilling, not scary and didn't keep me on the edge of my seat. For me this was more a drama, with some action and some excitement, and that's not a bad thing at all, it worked, I liked the movie a lot. Russell Crowe is a great actor and that he proves once again, but also the acting of all the others in the cast did a great job, there are a few Hollywood things here and there, very clever cops that almost have a hunch for knowing things they possible could not, and a few other things, but that does not fall on the actors at all.
SnoopyStyle
Three years ago, Lara Brennan (Elizabeth Banks) is arrested for murdering her boss Elizabeth Gesas. Her life with her husband John (Russell Crowe) and her infant son is shattered. The evidence is damning, a possible witness isn't found, and any appeal is unlikely to work. John decides to break her out of Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburg with lots of preparations. It's nearly impossible and then he is surprised by Lara's transfer in 3 days. He has to rush his plans before he's ready.The first time around, the movie seems like a well written if somewhat long. After another viewing, the story is doing a lot of things that are too neatly written. It doesn't feel real. The first two thirds is the preparations and the various detours. The final third is the actual escape. The movie is over 2 hours and it's a bit slow at times. The preparations don't raise the tension all the time. It needs to be tighten greatly. Paul Haggis is not able to sharpen this movie to a finer edge. The escape has a nice intensity. The acting is superb and even the minor roles are filled with great actors. The movie tries to do a lot. There is a back and forth about her guilt or innocence. There is another woman. There are cops investigating him. And then there is the drug deal robbery. Maybe it's too much. Again it needs to be tightened somehow.
