Costner is Ethan Renner, an seasoned CIA operative that's recently retired after being given 3 months to live after being diagnosed with a deadly disease. Relocates to Paris to reconnect with his wife, Christine (Connie Nielsen, Boss) and daughter Zooey (Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit) when suddenly operative Vivi Delay (Amber Heard, dressed as the poster child for an dominatrix) forces Renner into ONE LAST JOB, how original.
He must stop the international assassin, The Wolf (Richard Sammel) or the Kitten who gets my award for "Least Threatening Villain of 2014" strictly because he does nothing but hide behind his bodyguards for the majority of the film. In exchange, he will be given injections for a magical formula that extends his life even though he passes out at the WORST times.
A cool premise and screenplay by Luc Besson and Adi Hasek put into director McG's hands is chopped up into puree and creates a sloppy mess in the cinematic kitchen. Granted, he knows how to put together a good action sequence but is completely inept at creating emotion and comedy that it splits into two films. Part action, part family drama. Ugh.
Costner keeps you interested while showing off some cool moves and intelligence towards his work but he really is obsessed with a purple bike that fails to generate even a chuckle. Nielsen plays his wife as good as her thin character development allows her and Steinfeld continues to show promise with sly but caring performance and even made me laugh everytime she called him Ethan (instead of Dad) while the villains are complete cardboard.
When the action is on, so is the movie but when the family drama is the showcase, I was about as bored and annoyed just like in McG's latest bust, This Means War.
Verdict: C-
3 Days to Kill wants to be Taken and The Transporter but poor direction and a bloated running time hampers Costner's gruff performance and cool premise. If you want to see him in hero mode, rent No Way Out instead.