3 Days to Kill

3 Days to Kill follows dying CIA agent Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) as he’s offered an experimental new therapy that could save his life, with the catch being that Ethan must first agree to find and kill a notorious arms dealer known as The Wolf. It’s a simple premise that’s slowly-but-surely drained of its appeal by scripters Adi Hasak and Luc Besson, as the screenwriters augment the narrative with a whole host of entirely, frustratingly needless elements – with the movie’s overstuffed atmosphere personified by an ongoing emphasis on the fractured relationship between Renner and his rebellious daughter (Hailee Steinfeld’s Zoey). Filmmaker McG’s subsequent efforts at balancing the story’s dramatic and action-oriented elements fall completely, hopelessly flat, as the scattered vibe prevents the viewer from working up any interest in or enthusiasm for the central character’s ongoing exploits. It’s worth noting, too, that neither the louder, over-the-top moments nor the quieter, more subdued sequences are able to make a positive impact, with McG’s difficulties in sustaining a consistent tone ensuring that virtually nothing here wholeheartedly works. (The fact that the movie runs almost two hours plays a key role in its downfall, certainly, as there’s simply no overlooking the rough-cut feel that’s been hard-wired into the proceedings.) By the time the umpteenth scene of Renner attempting to bond with Zoey rolls around – he even teaches her to ride a bicycle, for crying out loud! – 3 Days to Kill has established itself as an aggressively misguided effort that fails as both a revenge-fueled thriller and a low-key father/daughter drama.

*1/2 out of ****