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.
