3 Days to Kill

“Kevin Costner seems to be making a comeback into mainstream cinema”. That’s what a fellow writer / critic said at the preview of 3 Days to Kill.  My response was that legends like Costner really don’t need to make a “comeback”.  They will always have age appropriate roles available for them – if they want to give it a shot.

In fact on researching a bit, I found that he has been doing a movie a year.  Therefore, where is the question of a comeback? One can only argue that this would be his first in a long time that he has played the lead role in a movie.  The last instance would probably be The New Daughter (2009).  So in that sense, 3 Days to Kill, is a bit of a comeback.

That being said, 3 Days to Kill is the story of an aging but trusted CIA field resource – Ethan Renner (Costner).  Ethan’s field job has taken him to several exotic locations across the world including his current assignment in Serbia that involves an arms dealer called The Wolf (Richard Sammel) and his right hand man The Albino (Tómas Lemarquis).

The mission is a partial success i.e. Ethan gives The Albino a limp and manages to recover the 2 nuclear war heads that were on the market.  Inadvertently, he also gets a look at The Wolf and now is the only person in the CIA who knows what the wolf looks like.  Unfortunately, he is also diagnosed with a final stage melanoma and has 3-5 months to live.

Now, this is where the story gets interesting.  Ethan has a wife, Christina (Connie Nielsen) and a daughter Zoey (Hailee Steinfeld) who are based out of Paris.  In a last ditch effort to make amends with his family, Ethan gets himself posted to Paris.  Enter – Vivi Delay (Amber Heard) – the mission in-charge @ Serbia who wants Ethan to run one last job.  Kill The Wolf.

The highlight of 3 Days to Kill would be the narration that, other than being non-linear in parts, oscillates between some great chases / fights and funny interrogations / conversations.  Although not most appropriate, the word that comes to mind is probably “quirky”.  I actually enjoyed the movie quite a bit despite its tepid start.

Costner hogs the screen time by a country mile but then you will not be complaining because he does so with the characteristic nonchalance that you have come to associate with him over the years.  Amber Heard seems overly made up but makes for a good character.  My favourite character / actor in the movie would be Mitat Yilmaz (Marc Andréoni) – The Wolf’s driver who has twin daughters and a dominating wife.

3 Days to Kill actually strikes a very nice balance between fun and serious CIA stuff.  McG (We are Marshall / Terminator Salvation) does a fine job executing the same as well.  In all, it is a great fun movie and a good way to spend your weekend.  Enjoy the narration that veteran Luc Besson (Transporter) and Adi Hasak (From Paris with Love) have whipped up.  6.5 on 10.

Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2489493529/?ref_=tt_ov_vi