3 días para matar

Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Kevin Costner's filmography in order I come to 2014's three days to kill.

Plot In A Paragraph: Ethan Renner (KC) an estranged father, with limited time to live, desperately tries to reconnect with his estranged wife and daughter before his death. Oh and he is a C.I.A. field agent, that is promised an experimental drug if he agrees to one last job.

3 Days To Kill was marketed as an action film like Taken. I guess, that is a fair description. But there is more to it than that!! It is also an melodrama mixed in with foreign intrigue, assassination plots, kidnappings, and murders. There is plenty going on. Maybe it would have been better in Luc Besson's directed his own script, as it seems uneven at times.

Ridiculously implausible, but that doesn't take away from its entertainment value at times. There is a silly sub-plot about a squatting family of immigrants who have taken shelter in KC's flat, but the distraction is minimal. The annoying daughters bratty attitude grows tiresome early on (I actually wanted several horrible fates to befall her) but she is worth protection by the ended the movie.

With the exception of 3000 Miles To Graceland, 3 Days To Kill is without doubt the most action packed/violent movie in KC's filmography.

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.

This movie was surprising. It was actually quite funny. I laughed out loud a few times. It had some cool fight scenes. Kevin Costner was awesome as usual. I really liked his character and the quirky humour. Don't take it too seriously. Give it a go. You might be pleasantly surprised.

From seeing the trailers, I expected a different kind of action film then what I saw. It doesn't make the film bad by any means, just as I said, not what I was expecting. You could very well tell the Luc Besson influence, who wrote the story, co-wrote the screenplay & produced the film, from the odd pacing / editing of the film. A lot of the dialogue also seemed foreign, and weirdly placed. Again, I'm not saying this is a bad film, just ya know. I envisioned a more action heavy / bare knuckles kind of film and it did have more of a character driven story then I expected, so it still was a nice entertaining film and I loved Costner in this. I kinda feel he's making a strong comeback, that I'm excited for. I say if you like Costner, you love Besson, then this is a film for you! :)

A terminally ill former CIA agent is given one last assignment in exchange for an experimental hallucinogenic drug that may extend his life, and he struggles to reconnect with his teenage daughter with the time he has left.

I know what you're thinking: this is a Nicolas Cage action movie. You're right. In Matchstick Men, Stolen, and Rage, Nicolas Cage has to bond with/rescue his teenage daughter. In Gone in Sixty Seconds, Stolen, and Rage, Nicolas Cage comes back for "just one more job". In Bringing Out the Dead, Nicolas Cage hallucinates over the course of three days. And in Dying of the Light, Nicolas Cage plays a CIA agent dying of a terminal illness.

One more: In Drive Angry, Cage's costar is Amber Heard, and he has three days to "complete his mission". Kevin Costner's costar in 3 Days to Kill is Amber Heard. And as is evident by the title, he has three days to complete his assignment.

So, yes, you've seen this movie before. And during every since scene, you're keenly aware that Nicky Cage could have played the Kevin Costner role. However, with the well-known plot and without Nicky Cage, this is still a very entertaining movie! Kevin Costner is very likable, and there are several hilarious scenes in which he's torturing someone or about to kill someone but is interrupted by his daughter's embarrassing "I Don't Care" ringtone and has to juggle playing Daddy and being an assassin. The action scenes are exciting and sometimes cringe-worthy (in a "She's going to get decapitated; I can't look!" way), but thankfully the movie stays away from blood and guts. It's really very good, and I recommend it for those who like a little humor in their action flicks. Amber Heard got on my nerves a little, but only because she had a major attitude problem and wore black leather corsets for absolutely no reason. But all in all, her part is small, and Kevin Costner's parental charm more than made up for it.