3 Days to Kill (2014)

A dying CIA agent trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter is offered an experimental drug that could save his life in exchange for one last assignment.

Director:

McG

Writers:

Adi Hasak (screenplay), Luc Besson (screenplay),

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Hailee Steinfeld, Connie Nielsen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Costner	...	Ethan Renner
Amber Heard	...	Vivi Delay
Hailee Steinfeld	...	Zooey Renner
Connie Nielsen	...	Christine Renner
Tómas Lemarquis	...	The Albino
Richard Sammel	...	The Wolf
Marc Andréoni	...	Mitat Yilmaz
Bruno Ricci	...	Guido
Jonas Bloquet	...	Hugh
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Jules
Joakhim Sigue	...	Abbate
Alison Valence	...	Sumia
Big John	...	Louis
Michaël Vander-Meiren	...	Jacques
Paolo Calia	...	JPG Salesman

Storyline

A dangerous international spy is determined to give up his high stakes life to finally build a closer relationship with his estranged wife and daughter, whom he's previously kept at arm's length to keep out of danger. But first, he must complete one last mission - even if it means juggling the two toughest assignments yet: hunting down the world's most ruthless terrorist and looking after his teenage daughter for the first time in ten years, while his wife is out of town.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | leather dress | estranged wife | cia | cia agent | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

14A

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA France Greece Russia

Language:

English French German Serbian

Release Date:

21 February 2014 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Trois Jours pour tuer

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$12,242,218 (USA) (21 February 2014)

Gross:

$30,688,364 (USA) (9 May 2014)

Company Credits

Production Co:

3DTK, EuropaCorp, Feelgood Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 123 min (Extended Edition)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the student is talking to Ethan after he is picking up Zooey at school, the student makes a cowboy reference. Kevin Costner played western lawman Wyatt Earp in Wyatt Earp (1994). [Alternatively, the "cowboy" reference could also be to Costner's even earlier breakout role in 1985 in the great movie, "Silverado."]

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Goofs

Ethan buys cough syrup labeled "COUGHT SYRUP".

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Quotes

Vivi Delay: The wolf is the most dangerous terrorist this world has ever faced. Only you can stop him.
Ethan Renner: I'm going to need a new suit.

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Screenings: Winter's Tale/3 Days to Kill/Pompeii (2014)

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Soundtracks

Sweet Disposition
Written by Dougie Mandagi and Lorenzo Siflito
Performed by The Temper Trap

User Reviews

Taken for a Ride

There's not much to recommend this film. Neither the acting, direction, script, music, or photography offer anything new to the genre, and in some cases, it is far below average. Among the actors, only 18 year old Hailee Steinfeld (she plays Costner's daughter) stands out. You'll remember her from "Enders Game" and "True Grit" and I thought this was her best performance to date. Costner has played this role so many times before he's obviously bored with it, and it doesn't even begin to approach his work in "The Bodyguard". Amber Heard is completely miscast, and even if she weren't, the dialog and the crazy costume changes would be difficult to overcome. Indeed Heard's costume changes are a metaphor for the film itself, which doesn't seem to know whether it is a comedy (in which case it fails), an action thriller (which is far too long and not too thrilling), a romance (without much spark by anyone), or just a plain family adventure (with too much violence).

Luc Besson provided the story and the screenplay. Besson is a gifted writer with such marvelous credits as "La Femme Nikita", "Leon" (aka "The Professional"), "The Fifth Element", and "Columbiana". He also wrote "Taken", "The Transporter", and "Kiss of the Dragon" which weren't as good as the first group, but still well above average. This film has elements from many of his previous works, but the stitching comes loose in this one. Most of Besson's best films he also directed, so perhaps the problem lies there. Or perhaps it lies with director McG who is primarily a TV director and producer. Indeed, the film's uneven tone was clearly one of the major problems with his "Chuck" series.

Give this one a miss. Apart from the many on location shots of Paris, there's not much to recommend it.