Three stars. Rating: PG-13, despite considerable intense violence, profanity and lurid sensuality
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 2.21.14
In theory, teaming French action
filmmaker Luc Besson and American action director Joseph McGinty Nichol — who
prefers the nom de guerre “McG” — should produce the perfect cinematic
marriage.
 |
| Once past her initial hostility, Zoey (Hailee Steinfeld) decides that she likes having her father, Ethan (Kevin Costner), back in her life. Unfortunately, their fragile bonding efforts keep getting interrupted by Ethan's demanding boss, with fresh bad guys for him to find and kill. |
The former is a one-man movie
machine well known for (among many others) La Femme Nikita, Jason Statham’s Transporter series and Liam Neeson’s Taken series; the latter is perhaps
notorious for the two big-screen Charlie’s Angels entries and 2009’s Terminator Salvation.
Assuming your desires extend no
further than noisy, attitude-laden eye candy, what could possibly go wrong when
these two fellas get together?
Clashing sensibilities, of
course.
3 Days to Kill — directed by
McG, written by Besson and Adi Hasak — proudly displays its comic book tone
right up front, as veteran CIA agent Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) and a sizable
team prepare to capture nasty international terrorists laughably known only as
The Albino (Tómas Lemarquis) and The Wolf (Richard Sammel). The operation goes
awry, and the baddies get away, much to the annoyance of CIA handler Vivi Delay
(Amber Heard), sent by Washington to monitor the situation.
Worse yet, Ethan gets rather bad
news while recuperating from injuries sustained during this fiasco: a diagnosis
of advanced terminal cancer that’ll kill him in a few months. Not that this
will stop any of the action to come; just as Ali MacGraw became more radiantly
beautiful, the sicker she got in 1970’s Love Story, ol’ Ethan loses none of
his flair for beating up on baddies twice his size and half his age.
Even so, he’s tired and
discouraged, and wants to spend his remaining time with his ex-wife, Christine
(Connie Nielsen), and long-estranged teenage daughter, Zoey (Hailee Steinfeld),
both living in Paris. But catching up on a decade’s worth of missed birthdays
and youthful milestones isn’t easy, and Zoey isn’t about to cut him any slack.
On top of which, Vivi rather
inexplicably wants Ethan to finish the botched pursuit of The Albino and The
Wolf. I say “inexplicably” because Vivi clearly has the resources, the ruthless
attitude and the improbable skills necessary to complete the assignment
herself, likely in half the time.
As conceived and audaciously
played by Heard, Vivi is equal parts Marvel Comics’ Black Widow, Sidney Bristow
(from TV’s Alias) and strip club lap dancer. Why waste time with the dying
Ethan, who’s obviously — in Vivi’s mind — long past his sell-by date?
Well, because the script says so.
