3 Days to Kill

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! :)

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.

This movie tries to be many things; its mostly an action film but also plays heavily into the family drama while throwing in some dark comedy too, all with mixed results.

The somewhat recycled story follows Kevin Costner as a gruff ex secret service agent who after being told has just 3 months to live sets out on that infamous "one last mission" in exchange for an experimental drug that will save his life. This last job just happens to take place with he also tasked with looking after his estranged teenage daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) after his ex wife (conveniently) has to leave town.

The action storyline is quite good though thanks to Luc Besson; decent stunts, tons of broken glass and bullet riddled bodies, and Costner gets the job done -Liam Neeson style-. The ending sequence was also refreshing as all along I had been assuming a cliché kidnapping, so nice twist there.

I did find the amount of perfect English being spoken and understood in France and especially Serbia a little convenient but whatever, this was mindless but still worth a watch.

It seemed in limbo between being a comedy action and a serious action. For me the comedy section was hit and miss and it excelled when it was more serious and the action as a whole was very good. Unfortunately Amber Heard's character optimised this and her whacky appearance seemed out of sync with the rest of the film and the comedy didn't particular work and just felt more strange than anything else. Overall though an easy and enjoyable watch.