Film Review - 3 Days To Kill

 

A Parisian Adventure
 
Film: 3 Days To Kill
Cast: Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld
Directed by: McG
Duration: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating:  * *
 

3 Days To Kill is a typical action film produced in the factory of Luc Besson. Like the Transporter, Taken & Taxi series there is very little in terms of plot and it tries to rely on the action mostly. Since the story is written by Besson, don’t expect much character development or a story; on that count, it is all flimsy. Plus if you think only Bollywood has clichés then you ought to watch this film. It is more clichéd than a Sajid Khan film.

Kevin Costner plays Ethan, a CIA agent who wants to call it quits and get back to his estranged family. He also learns that he has a certain form of cancer with very little time to live. From America, he makes a dash to Paris to see his young daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) doesn’t call him ‘dad’ and prefers his first name because for years, papa didn’t have time for the family since he was too busy with his work.

Since his wife is out of town for a few days (3 to be precise), he gets a good opportunity to bond with his daughter. Meanwhile he is entrusted with another mission with a quid pro quo. A rather mysterious woman (Amber Heard) has a drug which will cure his cancer but in turn he must hunt down and eliminate a considerably dangerous terrorist.  When a film has villains named ‘The Wolf’ and ‘The Albino’ you know you can’t take it too seriously.

Fortunately, there are some lightweight scenes where the film also doesn’t take itself too seriously, like the one where Costner kidnaps a man and asks him for the spaghetti recipe, while he is on the phone with his daughter. 

Our hero has to battle professional as well as personal problems – in one of those age old scenes, he even saves his daughter from a bunch of goons in a discotheque.  On the action front, some of the chases on the streets of Paris are well executed.

Kevin Costner does an admirable job (though you can’t help but think of Liam Neeson) and carries the film on his own. On the whole, if you are looking to kill some time then this one is just about okay.   


Published in The Navhind Timess on 16th March 2014
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