3 Days to Kill Review

Rated PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Violence and Action, Some Sensuality and Language)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 57 Minutes

Cast-

Kevin Costner-Ethan Renner

Hailee Steinfeld-Zoey Renner

Amber Heard-Vivi Delay

Connie Nielsen-Christine Renner

Richard Sammel-Wolfgang Braun/The Wolf

Tómas Lemarquis-The Albino

Marc Andréoni-Mitat Yilmaz

Bruno Ricci-Guido

Jonas Bloquet-Hugh

Eriq Ebouaney-Jules

Joakhim Sigue-Abbate

Alison Valence-Sumia

Jonathan Barbezieux-Louis

Michaël Vander-Meiren-Jacques

Directed by Joseph 'McG' Nichol

Wait a minute, you're not Liam Neeson!

Note: Screened on Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at AMC Loews 34th Street 14.

Ever since he starred in Pierre Morel's 2009 action thriller "Taken," sixty-one year old actor Liam Neeson has been enjoying a major career resurgence, with the hit film redefining him as a bona fide action star in the eyes of moviegoers. Looking to go the same route is Academy Award-winning director/actor Kevin Costner, who plays—you guessed it—an aging CIA operative in Joseph 'McG' Nichol's "3 Days to Kill," the latest product from Luc Besson's factory-like production company EuropaCorp. Since its inception fourteen years ago, EuropaCorp has been responsible for the glut of mid-range action films that have been hitting theaters over the last decade. Some, like 2002's "The Transporter" and even 2007's "Hitman," are passable in a guilty pleasure sort of way while others, like the aforementioned "Taken," are downright entertaining but more often than not, the quality of EuropaCorp's releases have ranged from mediocre to abysmal. The problem with Besson's work is that they all feature disposable B-movie plots with cheesy villains who are one step away from growing out their evil mustache. It's no better than the trashy thrillers that premiere on late-night cable; the only difference is that the films bearing Besson's name are directed with a little more flair and just happen to star a recognizable Hollywood actor. "3 Days to Kill" falls firmly into mediocre territory, with McG and Besson unable to decide on whether their film wants to be an action thriller, a father-daughter drama, or a comedy. Their choice to do all three has resulted in a wildly erratic picture that's all over the map in terms of tone and execution.

Grizzled CIA field operative Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) has been with the agency for thirty-two years, neglecting his wife and daughter in the process but his old age catches up to him during a mission to capture a notorious arms dealer named Wolfgang Braun, who calls himself 'The Wolf' (Richard Sammel). While chasing after The Wolf's enforcer 'The Albino' (Tómas Lemarquis), Ethan suddenly collapses on the street but he manages to wound his target in the foot before losing consciousness. He wakes up in a hospital some time later and learns from the doctor that he's been diagnosed with terminal brain and lung cancer, with only three to five months to live. Forced into retirement, Ethan travels to Paris, France in a last-ditch attempt to reconnect with his estranged wife Christine (Connie Nielsen) and teenage daughter Zoey (Hailee Steinfeld). With Christine going on an impromptu business trip to London, Ethan is tasked with taking care of Zoey for three days but his hope of making up for lost time is complicated when a rogue CIA agent named Vivi Delay (Amber Heard) contacts him out of the blue for one last job. She offers Ethan a big payday as well as an experimental drug that could cure his cancer; in exchange he will locate The Wolf and his associates, and put an end to their lives.

"3 Days to Kill" is a film that doesn't know what it wants to be. On the surface, it looks like a derivative copy of Pierre Morel's "Taken" but while it shares some stylistic similarities with the 2009 film, McG's picture is an odd concoction that mixes an earnest father-daughter melodrama with a trashy B-movie action thriller plot. The end result is a film that's tonally all over the place, with the script (written by Luc Besson and Adi Hasak) being frequently pulled into random subplots that will leave you staring at the screen in absolute bewilderment. The opening scenes, while generic as action thrillers go, show some promise as Kevin Costner's Ethan Renner (watching a little too much "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," Mr. Besson) is on a mission to take down an arms dealer who goes by the cheesy Eurotrash nickname 'The Wolf.' A bomb explodes, followed by a massive shootout and before we know it, Renner's in the hospital where he's given the bad news about his cancer going terminal. Given that he only has three to five months to live, it's understandable that Renner wants to spend what little time he has left with his family, and since this is a film written by Luc Besson, you would think said family comes into danger when the aforementioned arms dealer comes after him looking for revenge. If "3 Days to Kill" had followed that loose plotline, it could've at least been a passable, albeit utterly predictable, affair but Besson instead spins his wheels for close to two hours, trapping the main character in a repetitive series of events where Renner tries to bond with his daughter, is suddenly called away on an urgent mission and then finds out that he messed up again upon returning from his absence.

It's clear that Besson and Hasak were trying to go for a comedic tone by juxtaposing Renner's cold efficiency as a government operative with his complete ineptitude as a father to a teenage daughter. Unfortunately, McG lacks the directorial skill to pull off that kind of tonal balancing act. At best, it's not funny and at worse, it's bizarre to watch. To locate The Wolf, Renner goes after two of his known associates: high-end car salesman Mitat Yilmaz (Marc Andréoni) and accountant Guido (Bruno Ricci). He takes each of them back to his apartment (where a family of African squatters has moved in, just because) but before the aging CIA agent can interrogate them, his daughter calls. This leads to several surreal moments where Renner resorts to asking for parenting advice from Mitat and later, forces a tied-up Guido—who talks like he's Super Mario—to divulge an old family recipe when Zoey reveals that she wants to cook a romantic dinner for her boyfriend. As if the film wasn't weird enough already, there's a running gag involving Renner's new ringtone (Icona Pop's I Love It), which immediately sucks out whatever tension McG was going for every time it rears its ugly head. By the time "3 Days to Kill" finally returns to The Wolf, it's all but an afterthought because the script never makes him a credible threat. However, what really kills the film is the inconsistent tone, leading to a disjointed 'what kind of movie am I watching' vibe.

Kevin Costner may be two years younger than Liam Neeson but the critically-acclaimed actor looks much older with his wrinkled blue eyes and five o'clock shadow. While he certainly nailed the appearance of a world-weary, burnt-out government agent, Costner's performance in McG's film is rather disengaged, to the point where it feels like he's about to fall asleep in the middle of a scene. Not helping matters is the fact that he moves like molasses during the film's few action scenes. On multiple occasions, the audience only witnesses the aftermath of Renner's handiwork with numerous bodies strewn across the floor. If Costner's goal was to follow in Neeson's footsteps, he hasn't succeeded. Hailee Steinfeld fares better as she manages to bring some depth to her role her as Zoey, a teenager who outwardly spurns her absentee father but secretly yearns to repair their relationship. Amber Heard seems to have stepped out of a completely different film with her femme fatale turn as Vivi Delay. We learn absolutely nothing about her character, with Heard moving in and out of the narrative at random. The beautiful Connie Nielsen is wasted as Renner's estranged wife Christine while Richard Sammel's The Wolf is another in a long-line of cookie-cutter Eurotrash villains that Besson just loves to populate his films with.

Released on February 21, 2014, "3 Days to Kill" has received largely dismal reviews with 29% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found that it 'uneasily mixes technically accomplished action sequences with an underdeveloped family conflict.' The audience at the advance screening didn't know what to make of the film either, with some voicing that they were misled by the initial trailers. Box office wise, "3 Days to Kill" attracted little attention from moviegoers as it grossed only $12.2 million in its weekend debut. At this rate, it'll creep past $30 million before fading away from theaters. I don't know what Luc Besson was smoking when he sat down to write "3 Days to Kill." He takes a somewhat-promising premise and handles it in the laziest way possible while failing to keep a consistent tone. Maybe it's time for Besson to retire before he sullies whatever goodwill he has left.

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

"I don't want to spend the rest of my life killing for you."