Review of 3 Days to Kill (2014) by Thomas W — 07 Jun 2014

Kevin Costner stars as an unscrupulous CIA spy/assassin who has sacrificed most of his life -- or the time spent with family -- traveling the world "advancing" his career. When Ethan decides to give up his career to (finally) bond with his teenage daughter (Steinfeld) who lives in Paris with her mother (Nielson), he is given the bad news that he is actually dying and that his days will be numbered.

In exchange for performing one more mission, he is offered an experimental drug that will prolong his life; but he must complete his task in three days. Complicating matters, these three days overlap with Ethan watching his daughter -- who has just started dating -- for the first time in years! The action sequences of 3 Days are strong but the scenes of family drama are uneven and feel forced and fake.

Much of this feels contrived and the climatic scene is a real eye-roller as many of Luc Besson's (who wrote the screenplay) later films have become and most of McG's (Charlie's Angels) are.

This wants to be fun and serious at the same time ... and it just doesn't work.