I wanted to like this more than I did. It sounded so promising – Paul Haggis, Russell Crowe, an intriguing set up (mild academic tries to bust wife out of prison) – but all along I kept thinking… “it just doesn’t work for me”. And it obviously didn’t for a large audience. Why? Okay first off I think the idea of busting your wife out of prison isn’t one of those all-time archetypal great ideas, like rescuing your daughter from kidnappers (Taken), or getting revenge on bullies.
Maybe it would have worked if it had been about busting your daughter out of prison, or a man with nothing else to live for (i.e. a really dull job, no ties). But Russell’s got a young kid, parents, a good job – not to mention a hot single mother who clearly wants to go for him. Why risk all that? Even if Elizabeth Banks is very good in her part. Maybe they should have had her on death row or something.
Also the movie veers from Crowe’s character being incompetent (making locks that don’t work, getting knocked on the head) to very competent (eg killing meth dealers). I think it would have been better if he’d just been competent – but then I guess that’s not the film they were making.
There are some odd script choices too – like setting up an opposition police man at the beginning but then introducing another one. A lack of humor. Underdeveloped characters – like the single mother who strikes up a bond with Crowe. Frustrating.
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