Watching 3 Days to Kill felt like an oddly
unsatisfying rollercoaster experience, jolting back and forth between liking
and despising the film for its surprise successes followed by massive failures
to follow through. It is easily the most uneven action film of the year, which
is remarkably disappointing after an impressive opening sequence that rivals
any other part of the film. This introduction to the film was enhanced even
further by my low expectations from any film directed by McG. I nearly became
convinced that Luc Besson’s contributions to the film via screenplay may be the
saving grace of the film, but then the film slipped away from the action and
began to feel like an odd cousin to the family dramedy in Besson’s The Family.
Part of the only
saving grace in the first half of 3 Days
to Kill becomes what ultimately destroys the second half of the film. It is
a movie that does not exist in traditional action genre structures, and the
story is unpredictable because of this type of bipolar filmmaking.
Unfortunately, this is one case where not knowing where the story is going
helps to prevent it from becoming dull. The extended cut only highlights the
flaws further, dragging out the sequences in the middle of the film attempting
to focus on the humor over the action. Star Kevin Costner is actually one of
the few things holding the discombobulated mess of this film together, capable
of making the comedy work as nonchalantly as he can convincingly kill a man.
Costner is Ethan
Renner, a skilled international assassin who discovers that he is dying and
decides that he should spend his remaining days attempting to reunite with his
wife (Connie Nielson) and teenage daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) living in Paris.
His job has always kept him away from his family, a fact which his wife clearly
resents, but this appears to be a problem of the past when Ethan is discharged
due to his illness. In one of the film’s most schizophrenic and unexplained
moments, he is recruited by CIA operative Vivi Delay (Amber Heard) shortly
after he is fired. Even odder is the change in her appearance from the first
time we see her, as well as an amplified overt sexuality that seems to belong
in another film entirely. I can’t understand any of the decisions made for this
character, from script to director to actor; nobody did their job right for a
character like this to exist.
There is a brief
storyline involving a mysterious man whose face only Ethan has seen, but this
action is mostly a sub-plot to the struggle of re-establishing a relationship
with his daughter. The extended cut includes a bit more of this relationship,
which does little to cure the uneven feeling of the film. The theatrical
version is also included on the Blu-ray, as well as a DVD and Digital HD copy
of the film. The special features are limited to three featurettes, including a
generic making-of featurette and an unnecessary look at McG. This film tells
you all you need to know about the filmmaker.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 4/10
Historical
Significance: 2/10
Special Features: 4/10
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