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.
Dying of brain cancer, 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: hunt down the world's most ruthless terrorist and look after his teenage daughter for the first time in ten years while his wife is out of town.Written by
Relativity Media
While filming in Belgrade Kevin visited concert of Beyonce in Belgrade arena. See more »
Goofs
The hotel and the fortress in Belgrade from the beginning of the movie are on different sides of the river. It would have taken Ethan and the Albino close to an hour on foot to get from one place to the other. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
CIA Employee:
Mr. Director, this is Agent Vivien Delay.
CIA Employee:
For the last ten years the Central Intelligence Agency has been after Wolfgang Braun.
Vivi Delay:
The Wolf.
CIA Employee:
As you know, we have no positive identification of what the Wolf looks like. What we do know is he's a former German national who sells atomic material to terrorists all over the world.
CIA Employee:
Intelligence confirms that a transaction is to take place next week in Belgrade.
CIA Employee:
[throws down pictures]
The Wolf's number one man, the Albino, will be selling a dirty ...
[...] See more »
Alternate Versions
US theatrical version has some additional footage:
in the hotel, Ethan takes a door stopper
Ethan uses the door stopper to fool the guys in the hotel room Additionally, the photo he takes from one of the dead men shows himself. In the International version, the photo shows Zoe and Christine.
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.
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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.