Movie Breakdown: 3 Days To Kill

People are doing traditional-style reviews all over the web, so we decided to try something different.  In each “breakdown” we’ll take a look at what a film’s marketing lead us to believe, how the movie actually played, and then what we learned from it all.  Read on!

The Impression:

Kevin Costner stars as Liam Neeson in Taken 3: Days To Kill.

The Reality:

Oh McG, what have you done?  3 Days To Kill is the all-out family version of Liam Neeson’s Taken films, and it’s just not good.  What’s bizarre though, is that it’s not the “soft” stuff that wrecks the film.  Those parts, while definitely sappy and overdone, actually have some heart.  Surprisingly, it’s the action that feels tacked on and uninspired.  McG’s direction in each of those scenes is so lackadaisical and oddly comical that they just carry no weight at all, and then that’s made worse by Kevin Costner, who manages to make shooting and hitting people look like a chore.  Skip 3 Days To Kill.  Unless, of course, you like tonally challenged films that are instantly forgettable.

The Lesson:

Somebody needs to restart the return of Kevin Costner.