Directed by: McG

Writers: Luc Besson and Adi Hasak

Story: Luc Besson

Stars: Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld, Connie Nielsen, Tómas Lemarquis

It seems McG just gave up directing the movie and gave the actors a chance to create something that he could not.

Experienced, but dying, CIA agent Ethan Renner, works with a team to capture the ‘Albino’, who sells a dirty bomb to some terrorists. Renner is able to injure the Albino by shooting him in the leg. Due to health issues, he is unable to “finish” his task. After finding out that he is going to die very soon, Renner decides to fix his relationship with his daughter Zoey while he still can. The chance of a lifetime comes right after that when Vivi offers a deal, that he finds hard to refuse- he has to kill the Albino within three days, in exchange for an experimental drug that could extend his life significantly.

European movies are very interesting, and profound. They always touch on the stories that Hollywood tries to avoid. It is always good to see the same movie with the same subject, from a different perspective, especially when it comes to action films.  And here I must say, most of the time, Hollywood`s action movies always have the same ending- a happy one.  But when Europe makes an action movie, it`s another story, another world, another experience, that puts Hollywood to shame. This will not happen with this film.  Hollywood should be proud they did not make this mediocre film- “3 Days to Kill.”

It`s really sad to see such a great actor and multi-talented person such as Kevin Costner in a movie like this. I have no idea how the director of the film McG and Luc Besson convinced Kevin Costner to participate in this project. This question will surely remain unanswered.

Luc Besson is a very well renowned director, who directed such movies as “Leon” with Jean Reno, Gary Oldman and Natalie Portman and “The Fifth Element” with Bruce Willis.  He used to write and direct absolutely unique and incomparable films. But that was long ago. Since 2002 I can’t remember any of his movies that would merit my time. The poorly written screenplay for “3 Days To Kill” proves, once again, that I will stay away from his movies, even though it has such a huge actor as Kevin Costner.

The film starts with Ethan Renner, who works together with his team, to catch a very dangerous criminal. Suddenly, he remembers his daughter`s birthday, and leaves the mission for 5 minutes to make a phone call. While he is making the call, one of the undercover agents is killed, and many others are injured. He then sees the Albino and runs after him.  He is able to cripple the Albino by shooting him in the leg. After this happens, he is disabled by a very bad cough. The funny part is, if the Albino will kill anyone who stands up to him, why did he not kill the disabled CIA agent? I believe the reason is that Luc Besson chose to write this screenplay too unrealistic and too silly.

Later on in the hospital, Renner is diagnosed as having terminal brain cancer, which has spread to his lungs. He has only a few months to live. He decides to retire and spend his last few months with his family in Paris. It is here that one of the  CIA`s elite assassins, with the look of a top-model, Vive Delay (Amber Heard), finds him to offer him three days to kill the Albino in exchange for an experimental drug that could extend his life. And of course, he accepts the offer. And, as usually happens in every movie written or directed by Luc Besson, everything ends where it begins. The rest of the film is unbelievably awful, and unacceptable. Sometimes it`s hard to follow what`s happening with Ethan, because the writer himself has no clue what he is writing about. And I don`t blame McG, since the material given him was so silly and so poor, that he just gave up directing the movie and gave the actors a chance to create something that he could not.