3 Days to Kill

Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) was one of the CIA's top agents for many years. But Ethan had to make great sacrifices for this job. He didn't have time for a normal family life. And since he didn't want to expose his wife Christine (Connie Nielsen) or his daughter Zooey (Hailee Steinfeld) to the dangers his job brought with it, he had to make the difficult decision to leave them both. That was several years ago now, and contact with Zooey has almost completely broken off. But then Ethan learns that he is seriously ill and doesn't have long to live. He wants to use the little time he has left to make up for the mistakes of his past and to repair his relationship with his daughter. Too bad the CIA doesn't want to do without his services. Young agent Vivi Delay (Amber Heard) latches onto his heels to get him to help her take down one of the world's most dangerous terrorists. In return, he would receive a previously untested drug that would allow him even more time with his family. But taking care of a pubescent girl and a terrorist at the same time is an almost impossible task, even for a professional like Ethan.

Due to Luc Besson having had a hand in 3 Days to Kill, the new directorial effort from McG (3 Angels for Charlie) is very obvious, with parallels to the Taken films also written and produced by Besson. But while the Liam Neeson action thrillers are rather serious and gritty, McG takes a much more relaxed approach. Although there are some dramatic moments in his work, but the humor never comes too short. This works really well in some scenes and ensures that the film is a lot of fun despite its somewhat uninspired script. However, there are also moments where the humor seems very forced and just doesn't want to ignite. But the ratio is quite balanced, which is why the less successful moments only marginally diminish the enjoyment of the film.

The action is quite respectably implemented. While not much new is offered here either, the way Kevin Costner fights his way through the streets of Paris is quite something to behold. Also the opening sequence in a hotel in Belgrade has a very high entertainment value. Just by the fact that McG always loosens up the whole thing with a little bit of humor, even those moments work that would have otherwise seemed rather unintentionally funny due to a somewhat clichéd character. Anyway, Kevin Costner cuts a really good figure in his performance spiced with a bit of self-mockery - and even on a girl's bike.

Although her character is very overdrawn, Amber Heard is also convincing as an icy and sexy agent, and not just visually. Hailee Steinfeld and Connie Nielsen, on the other hand, have a little trouble playing against the very one-dimensional and clichéd drawing of their characters. Since the script doesn't give the characters much room to develop anyway, this can't be construed negatively against them, though. But 3 Days to Kill doesn't want to be a great acting movie, but an entertainment movie that wants to offer its audience good action, a little bit of suspense and a lot of fun. And on balance McG succeeded in doing that.

To admit, there are some unnecessary lengths and the dialogues are not exactly award-worthy good. But if you can overlook that and don't expect much more than a slightly more humorous Taken copy, you'll get a convincing Kevin Costner and very solid popcorn entertainment - nothing more, but nothing less. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp