3 Days to Kill is a fun spy movie that might be the most Besson of all of the Luc Besson-produced neo-Eurospy movies to date. (Since the success of The Transporter, his company, EuropaCorp, has reliably churned out mid-budget spy/action movies made with European locations and at least partly European money, most starring slightly over-the-hill Hollywood stars looking for a late career comeback as an action hero. In other words, they’re following the reliable formula of the Sixties "Eurospy" genre, and generally doing an entertaining job of it.) That’s not to say that it’s the best Besson-produced action flick; it’s to say that it’s the most. Besson did not direct 3 Days to Kill, but he co-wrote it (with his Taken collaborator Adi Hasak) and produced it. McG directs, in a style that feels like an homage to Besson. Introducing last week’s Hollywood premiere, the director said that Besson’s early movies like La Femme Nikita and Leon were huge influences on him, and nowhere is that more evident than in 3 Days to Kill. Unlike Besson’s usual go-to helmer of late, Olivier Megaton, McG is a director who understands how to make a comprehensible action sequence to begin with. Add to that a stylistic nod to Besson, who’s one of the all-time masters of the action setpiece, and we’re left with a number of excellent action scenes in 3 Days to Kill. But also true to Besson’s own proclivities, we’re left with a wildly uneven tone that veers haphazardly between spy action and family dramedy, odd ethnic-based comedy, unbelievable coincidences, and schmaltzy, never quite credible, almost creepy scenes between a father and a teenage daughter. Yes, all of the best and worst of Luc Besson is present and accounted for in 3 Days to Kill, hence its claim to the title of the most Besson movie to date. That dooms it to inevitably negative reviews, but if you’re a fan of the French director/producer, you’ll find a whole lot to like. Not only has McG crafted an undeniably Besson action film, but he’s also made a better Besson movie than the last real Besson movie, The Family!
Kevin Costner (No Way Out), fresh off a solid supporting spy role in the somewhat underwhelming Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, steps into the limelight again as top CIA assassin Ethan Renner. (Now there’s a name contrived to conjure images of Mission: Impossible!) In the highly impressive opening action scene (which is never quite equaled), Ethan is part of a mission to take out a ruthless international terrorist arms dealer, The Wolf, and his sadistic henchman, The Albino, at a Belgrade hotel. Both baddies are played by superbly cast career Euro villains, the former by Richard Sammel, who has previously menaced both James Bond (as the eyepatched baddie Gettler in Casino Royale) and OSS 117 (as the Nazi Moeller in OSS 117:Cairo Nest of Spies), the latter by the supremely creepy Tómas Lemarquis. The mission goes spectacularly wrong, but Ethan still puts in a good showing until he’s felled by some sort of seizure, and the villains get away
The cause of the seizure is revealed to be advanced terminal brain cancer, effectively putting an end to Ethan’s CIA career. Retired and dying, he heads to Paris to reconnect with his estranged wife and daughter, Christine (Gladiator’s Connie Nielsen) and Zoey (True Grit Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld). Going through her difficult teenage years without a dad (and unaware of his condition), Zoey is naturally resistant to her father’s attempts to reinsert himself into her life. Christine gives Ethan a similarly cold reception until he’s forced to reveal that he’s dying (in order to get her to sign the proper papers to put his affairs in order), at which point she allows him to take care of Zoey for three days while she flies to England on business. From Zoey’s attitude (and her preference to spend time with her older boyfriend instead of her dad, or to go to raves with her friends instead of the amusement parks Ethan took her to when she was 9), it’s clear these will be a challenging three days for Ethan already. But they’re made all the more challenging when the impossibly glamorous CIA agent Vivi Delay (Machete Kills’ Amber Heard) roars into his life in a Peugeot RCZ. (I’ll bet anything her driving scenes were added after Besson or McG saw her on Top Gear!) .
DOWNLOAD NOW
1 comment:
Bob said...
I went and saw the film based on your review and if you know what you are getting into, a viewer might enjoy the hour and forty minutes of entertainment. It certainly is a Besson film only with a little more intentional comedic scenes than some of his other action films. This film does have a plot that you really don't want to analyze too carefully. So, sit back and enjoy and be glad you did not go see Pompeii.
Recently, a film by Luc Besson, that I purchased on blu-ray and thoroughly enjoyed is 'The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc Sec". If you are in the right frame of mind, you will have a lot of fun with this film.
2:11 PM