3 Days to Kill

RELEASE DATE:  August 2014
RATING:  13 LVD
GENRE: Drama, Action
STARRING: Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld
RUNNING TIME: 117 Minutes
DIRECTOR: McG
WRITERS: Luc Besson, Adi Hasak
PRODUCERS: Luc Besson, Adi Hasak

FIRST THOUGHTS

Quite a lot going on in this French-American action flick from Luc Basson. You’ve got an international spy on one last mission who has to keep his family from falling apart at the same time. Its entertaining but doesn’t serve any lasting impressions throughout all of its 117 minutes of screen time.

Kevin Costner stars as Ethan a seasoned CIA hitman who’s plagued by cancer, leaving him with little less than several months to live. Opting to retire back to his family who resides in Paris, Ethan discovers the apartment he used to own is now being vacated by an immigrant family. It doesn’t stop there though, hot on Ethan’s trail for one last mission sits a seductive CIA operative called Vivi (Amber Heard). The payment is both cash and an experimental cancer treatment, soon violence breaks out as Ethan has to track down some dodgy international arms dealers – whilst also keeping things on the low and trying to bond with his unsettled teenage daughter Zooey (Hailee Steinfield).

Whats refreshing about this action-thrill film is that there’s a decent amount of inter-cutting between two totally different stories; the CIA action-thrills and the old man trying to do right by his family. It works in director McG’s favor as the film is constantly entertaining and Kevin Costner pulls off the role so well that its implausible to picture anybody doing the part. So whilst we have the back and forth between the two story threads, there’s also the charming backdrop of Paris which serves as a character of its own throughout the film.

WHY OWN IT?

Nope, this is definitely not an average action film – its got enough French wit to keep things flowing nicely, that being said its still a film which you’ll easily forget to remember. There’s nothing spectacularly good and visually it’s not going to give Christopher Nolan any sleepless nights, but like most things alternative, its still enjoyable and is sure to give any viewer with good taste some satisfaction. Both the sentimentality and vicious brutality merge together for an interesting climax. Kevin Costner adds a wheezy-chested gruff to his character but still manages to charmingly win every battle despite physical illness. Across him Hailee Steinfiled does well in bringing out the prickly teenage angst as his troublesome daughter.

SPECIAL FEATURES

N/A

3 Days To Kill would have fared even better if the themes of family conflict had been a bit more refined. I do think its a great DVD to own because in its entirety it offer’s something different to the stagnating action genre. And plus Paris always likes to show off on-screen.