Father of the Year

3 Days to Kill

Luc Besson is a French screenwriter and director and I am willing to bet that most out there don’t really know his name, but have seen a lot of his movies. Besson is responsible for action movies such as The Professional, The Fifth Element, and The Transporter. About six years ago Besson wrote a script about an ex covert ops specialist that has his daughter kidnapped in Paris. Sound familiar? Well it should because it was a very popular movie in 2008. Taken rejuvenated Liam Neeson’s career and made him into a badass. So why not do that for another aging actor, say…Kevin Costner.

3 Days to Kill tells the story of Ethan, a dying ex-CIA operative, who just wants to reconnect with his estranged daughter living in Paris. However, when an opportunity to cure his illness and extend the time he has with his daughter, Ethan is sucked back into the life that tore his family apart. Now trying to juggle a double life, Ethan must find that balance between saving his life and saving his family.

I just would like to go on record and say that I LOVE Besson’s film very much. The action and the light-heartedness can flow very well together. Every one of his films, from The Professional to Unleashed and even The Transporter series.  That’s why I was caught in between this film because it isn’t a bad concept, but it was executed quite poorly. I just don’t know if I like the film because the action scenes and the relatable family content or if I dislike it because the film doesn’t seem to have enough in it to make it better. The potential for this film is so high that I felt almost disappointed that it wasn’t more like Taken. Now I usually don’t want films to copy other films in their genre, but I kept thinking that this is going to turn awesome any moment now. On the other hand though, when the action scenes were going it did feel pretty intense.

Costner is no Neeson, I can tell you that. Costner does a good job trying to lead his duel life. Costner’s scenes with his daughter, Hailee Steinfeld, are pretty good. The father/daughter chemistry is good, just not great.

Like I said before, I am very in between on this one. I guess, I will just leave it at that then.

Verdict: To in between to make rational suggestion.