Russell Crowe plays John, an ordinary college lecturer whose wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks) is arrested over breakfast one morning for murdering her boss. Three years later, every appeal has failed and Lara is starting to show signs that she's not going to make it through, so John decideds that he has to break her out of jail, as you do. There is some questionable logic involved, as well as some questionable parenting, but as a thriller it works.
The first two-thirds of the film take their time. Director Paul Haggis (Crash) refuses to rush things, allowing you to get to know the principle characters and drawing you into the finer details of the preparation. This pays off with added tension in the final third as John and Lara try and evade the chasing police. None of the elements are totally original, and the film has echoes of many past thrillers, but its well enough handled by Haggis to keep you interested and engaged. They also managed to keep the question of Lara's guilt or innocence open longer than many smiliar films would have done.
Crowe is good in the lead and is that rare Hollywood star who can convince as an ordinary man. However, some of the themes could have been explored a bit more. Lara's despair, which is supposed to be John's main motivating factor is shown by a suicide attempt, but we get little sense of it elsewhere. Similarly, there is a pleasing ambiguity to the ending - can they still be happy together after the changes he has had to undergo in order to save her, but this theme could have been mined further.
Overall 7/10 Its not quite a first-rate thriller and most of the tricks will seem familiar, but its carried out with enough skill to make it an engaging and tense watch.
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