Film 3 Days To Kill
Lavonda Busing
3 Days to Kill is a 2014 action thriller film[2] directed by McG and written by Luc Besson and Adi Hasak.[3] It stars Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld, Connie Nielsen, Richard Sammel, and Eriq Ebouaney.[4] It was released on 21 February 2014,[5] received mixed reviews, and grossed $52.6 million against its $28 million budget.
American CIA agent Ethan Renner works with a team to capture the Albino, the lieutenant to an arms trafficker (called the Wolf) who is selling a dirty bomb to terrorists in a hotel in Belgrade.[6] The Albino deduces the trap when he recognizes one of Renner's fellow agents (disguised as a chambermaid), whom he kills. Renner, suddenly dizzy as he pursues the Albino, only manages to cripple him by shooting him in the leg, then blacks out, allowing the Albino to escape. Meanwhile, elite CIA assassin Vivi Delay, a "Top Shelf agent", has been personally assigned by the Director to kill the Wolf. Vivi monitors the operation and suspects Renner has unknowingly seen the Wolf.
Renner is nearly disabled by an extreme cough, which is diagnosed as terminal glioblastoma cancer that has spread to his lungs. He is only given a few months to live and will not survive until the following Christmas. For decades he has kept his dangerous career a carefully guarded secret from his wife Christine and daughter Zooey, at the cost of losing them. He decides to spend his remaining time trying to fix his relationship with his estranged daughter, and if possible, his ex-wife. He returns to Paris, where he and his family live separately, to find the African family of Jules is squatting in his apartment. The police tell him that he is not permitted to evict indigent squatters until after the winter. He makes an awkward reconnection with Christine and tells her of his terminal illness. She allows him to reconnect with Zooey, and when she has to go out of the country on business, she agrees to let him look after Zooey.
Vivi recruits him to find and kill the Wolf, in exchange for an experimental drug that could extend his life significantly. Renner reluctantly accepts, to get more time with his family. Vivi tells him the way to trap the Wolf is by getting the Albino, in turn by getting his accountant, and in turn by kidnapping the gang's limousine driver. All the while Renner is fighting the hallucinogenic effect of the medicine, which occurs whenever his heart rate goes too high, and which he can only control by consuming alcohol. He must also deal with Zooey's school problems, including her habit of lying so she can sneak out partying. He manages to keep her out of trouble and slowly reestablishes a father/daughter relationship with her, which impresses his wife.
He tracks the Wolf and the Albino into the subway. However, they gain the upper hand when he is disabled by the hallucinations. The Albino attempts to kill him by pushing him in front of an oncoming train, but Renner manages to push the Albino on the track instead. The Wolf escapes and contacts a business partner who can help him to flee the country.
The family is invited to a party thrown by Zooey's boyfriend's father who happens to be the Wolf's business partner. Renner manages to protect Christine and Zooey, kill all the Wolf's men, and trap the Wolf in an elevator before breaking the cables, causing the cabin to free-fall to the ground. The Wolf survives, severely injured, but Renner is again disabled and, also feeling guilty for all the damage his work has done to his family, he is suddenly unable to pull the trigger, and drops his gun where the Wolf can get it. Vivi intervenes and kicks the gun back to Renner, telling him to finish the job and kill the Wolf, but he decides not to, because "I promised my wife I'd quit." Vivi then kills the Wolf.
At last retired, Renner survives to Christmas, which he spends at a beach house with Zooey and Christine. He discovers a small, red-wrapped gift package containing another vial of the cancer medicine. Vivi is seen on a hill behind the house smiling as Renner opens the package.
On 7 August 2012, Deadline reported that Kevin Costner had been offered the role of Ethan Renner, a government assassin in the McG-directed film.[3] The film, set in France, was scripted by Luc Besson and Adi Hasak, with EuropaCorp having produced while Relativity Media had North American rights.[3] On 2 October 2012, it was confirmed that actor Costner had closed the deal to star as the lead in the film.[7] On 29 November 2012, Hailee Steinfeld joined the cast of the film as the female lead, and the film began production in early 2013.[8] On 13 December, Amber Heard also joined the cast.[9] Later, on 7 January 2013, Connie Nielsen was added to the cast.[10]
On 7 January 2013, crews were filming scenes in Paris and Belgrade, and shooting wrapped in April.[10] Some scenes in Paris were filmed in the studios and in the central nave of the Cit du Cinma, founded by Luc Besson in Saint-Denis. Scenes in Belgrade were filmed in front of Hotel Jugoslavija.[11]
On 31 January 2013, photos from the film set were released.[12] In November 2013, stills from the film were released.[13] On 17 December 2013, the studio released the first trailer and the poster for the film.[14] On 30 January 2014, Relativity released a new Super Bowl 2014 spot.[15]
3 Days to Kill holds a 27% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 124 reviews with an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's consensus states: "3 Days to Kill uneasily mixes technically accomplished action sequences with an underdeveloped family conflict."[17] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 40 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[18] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B on a scale of A to F.[19]
Kevin Costner stars as a retired CIA operative that is dying from cancer. During his last few months he decides to reconnect with his estranged wife and teenage daughter, played by Connie Nielsen and Hailee Steinfeld respectively. Before he can begin to make up for lost time he runs into a CIA operative, played by Amber Heard, who presents him with one last mission to finish in exchange for an experimental drug that can cure his illness.
This felt like the kind of film that would come about if a foreign executive spent three days in a locked room with nothing but spy films and family dramas from the 90s, and then decided to make a movie that was an unholy hybrid of the two. It feels like a hastily produced mish-mash just to make a quick buck.
The main character is a good guy, and he loves his family, but he's a cold-hearted killer when his job requires it. He coolly dispatches several minions and lackeys throughout the course of the movie, with no consequences.
The movie features frequent, stylish violence with lots of shooting and killing. Blood is shown, but the movie is not overly gory. Characters are threatened and lightly tortured for information. In a brief suggestion of sexual assault, three teen boys surround a teen girl at a club; they are shown attempting to pull up her dress while she says "no." The main character suffers attacks and hallucinations (the images ripple back and forth), accompanied by nose-bleeds. A woman is decapitated in an elevator shaft (offscreen). There are car chases and explosions.
The main character and his ex-wife are shown kissing, and they wake up in bed together. He is seen ogling her body as she wears a sleek nightie. A teen girl passionately kisses her boyfriend. A woman's naked bottom is shown in a tattoo parlor. A dancer onstage appears to be naked, though she is mostly obscured by smoke, and nothing explicit is shown. A main character is shown wearing seductive clothing, and in one shot, she stands over the fallen hero wearing a leather skirt; there is some mild spoken innuendo about this incident.
Characters are shown sipping wine at home, or drinking casually in clubs. When the character gets his "attacks" and begins hallucinating, vodka is said to calm him down. He drinks roughly two-thirds of a bottle and, in a comical moment, is shown to be a bit tipsy.
Parents need to know that 3 Days to Kill is another slick, lightweight action movie by writer and producer Luc Besson. Nothing is very realistic and nothing is meant to be taken too seriously, but the stylized violence includes lots of shooting and killing, with very little consequence. Some blood is shown, but the movie is not overly gory. There's also some comical torture to get information, and a brief suggestion of teen boys attempting to sexually assault a teen girl. Language is infrequent but does include uses of "f--k" and "s--t." Sex is suggested between an adult couple, and a teen girl passionately kisses her boyfriend. A naked female bottom is shown in a tattoo parlor. There is some casual background drinking and one instance of drinking to comic effect. Teens may be drawn to younger stars Amber Heard or Hailee Steinfeld. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
The CIA is on the trail of an international weapons dealer, called "The Wolf." Agent Vivi Delay (Amber Heard) is tasked to find him. Agent Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) is also on the job, but lets a suspect get away when he passes out. It turns out he has brain cancer that has spread to his lungs. Moving to Paris to spend time with his teen daughter Zoey (Hailee Steinfeld), and perhaps to patch things up with his ex-wife (Connie Nielsen), he is contacted by Vivi; she thinks he can identify The Wolf, and if he helps, she can get him an experimental cancer treatment that could prolong his life. Unfortunately, his ex goes away for three days, leaving Ethan solely in charge of Zoey, who doesn't yet know the true nature of his job...
Once again writer and producer Luc Besson has cranked out another second-tier, unpretentious action entertainment with a minimum of fuss. To be sure, 3 DAYS TO KILL is ridiculous in spots and downright preposterous in others, but it keeps up a brisk pace, throws in some exciting flourishes from time to time, and manages to cook up some genuinely sympathetic, interesting, and likeable characters.
c80f0f1006