Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

3 Days to Kill

also known as “Three Days to Kill”
MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA) for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language.

Reviewed by: Samantha Taylor
CONTRIBUTOR—first time reviewer

Moral Rating: Very Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Action Crime Thriller Drama
Length: 1 hr. 57 min.
Year of Release: 2014
USA Release: February 21, 2014 (wide—2,500+ theaters)
DVD: May 20, 2014
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Relevant Issues
Copyright, Relativity Media

absentee fathers who try to reconnect with their children

divorce in the Bible


spies in the Bible

immorality of terrorism

murder and death in the Bible

bravery, courage


NUDITY—Why are humans supposed to wear clothes? Answer

lust and fornication in the Bible

What are the consequences of sexual immorality? Answer


CANCER—Where did cancer come from? Answer

How did bad things come about? Answer

What kind of world would you create? Answer

Featuring Kevin CostnerEthan Renner
Amber HeardVivi Delay
Hailee SteinfeldZoey Renner
Connie Nielsen … Christine Renner
Tómas Lemarquis … The Albino
Richard Sammel … The Wolf
Marc Andréoni … Mitat Yilmaz
Bruno Ricci … Guido
Jonas Bloquet … Hugh
See all »
Director McG — “Nikita” TV series, “Supernatural” TV series
Producer 3DTK
EuropaCorp
See all »
Distributor
Distributor: Relativity Media. Trademark logo.
Relativity Media
, owned by UltraV Holdings

This movie takes place in Paris, and the main actor Kevin Costner (as Ethan) is sent to catch the “bad” guys who have some dirty bombs they are going to put in a public place to hurt a lot of people. Yet, in the midst of this, he finds himself dealing with his own medical issues and trying to re-kindle his relationship with his estranged daughter (Hailee Steinfeld — “True Grit,” “Ender’s Game”) and former wife (Connie Nielsen).

There are some unexpected parts in the movie, featuring emotional bonding and compassion for others by Ethan. It is very endearing to watch as he starts rebuilding his relationship with his estranged daughter. I didn’t realize the story was going to be mostly centered around this. The irony is that in between these scenes, Ethan is running around callously killing people, and then, alternately, he shows great compassion for a large family that moved into his apartment that he didn’t kick out. The movie goes back and forth between Ethan brutally killing, to having precious moments with his daughter. It is an interesting way to mix the two, for they make the moments between him and her extremely emotional.

I enjoy action movies and can handle some violence, but this movie has quite a bit of brutal killing, and not a gunshot here and there—very outright, blatant murder—many times with lots of blood and gore.

FILM VIOLENCE—How does viewing violence in movies affect families? Answer

Another thing that I find very difficult about the movie is that the main female actor (Amber Heard) is very promiscuous and barely dressed, most of the time looking like a prostitute. She is very sexual in her mannerisms and how she carries herself. It made the movie very uncomfortable to watch, sitting there with my husband. For PG-13, the sex/nudity is definitely heavy, much heavier then we prefer as Christians.

There is a scene where a nude woman is seen from the back in a tattoo parlor. The main actress is shown in an odd nightclub, dressed in skin tight clothes with major cleavage showing. There is some kind of nude dance club where women are seen dancing. The teen daughter is shown making out with her boyfriend. I found most of the movie, very uncomfortable to watch because of how much they sexualized the main female character (Amber Heard), and the dirty, raunchy places the lead character finds himself in. It was also very odd to watch the daughter being caught using drugs and almost date raped in a bathroom by 3 boys. Sure, these are real issues out there, but I just don’t choose to fill my mind with them, and I would never recommend watching this movie with a teenager to “discuss” the issues—not worth polluting the mind for this.

There is less bad language than I expected, but God’s names are used in vain at least 5 times. Vulgar language includes 2 f-words, SOB (2), s-words (4), *ss (1), and a**hole (1).

There is some humor, but it is not worth all of the violence and raunchiness the promiscuous main actress brings. The movie is a good example of why you don’t need that vulgar content to make a movie. We recently saw “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” and that is an action movie with no sex in it, and yet still good moviemaking.

With all of these things considered, as a Christian, I felt dirty watching “3 Days to Kill,” and I wish I had not wasted my time or corrupted my Spirit. I honestly should have left the theater. I do not recommend this movie. If you want to see a better recent action flick that is pretty clean, check “Jack Ryan.”

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Moderate to heavy / Sex/Nudity: Heavy

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Comments from non-viewers
Negative—Thank you to the reviewer for your honest evaluation. As a follower of Jesus I want to be very aware of what I choose to put in my mind and heart. I was thinking of seeing this or “Jack Ryan,” and you helped make that decision very easy. Sorry you had to put yourself through this to help others. I pray that the Lord will cleanse your mind of unclean images. God Bless, Ron
Ron, age 47 (USA)
Movie Critics
…Costner effortlessly blends deadpan comic flair with action movie heroics in this preposterous but entertaining genre mashup. …
Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
…By any reasonable standard, “3 Days to Kill” is a terrible movie: incoherent, crudely brutal, dumbly retrograde in its geo- and gender politics. But it is also, as much because of as in spite of these failings, kind of fun. …
A.O. Scott, The New York Times
…lightweight action pic… any possibility of sleeper-hit status has been fatally compromised by watered-down fight scenes and misguided family man dramatics. …
Geoff Berkshire, Chicago Tribune
…gives Costner the full Liam Neeson in “Taken” treatment, cashing in on a career of cool in a movie that moves almost fast enough to keep us from noticing how scruffy, discomfiting and absurdly over-the-top the whole thing is. …
Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service
…Do you have two hours? If so, I can think of better ways than settling in for this latest Kevin Costner movie, which combines the slightly unhinged plotting of Luc Besson and the over-the-top filmmaking pyrotechnics of McG. It's a movie that's races from no place to nowhere only to end in a headache. …
Stephen Whitty, The Star-Ledger (New Jersey)
…Feels like Kevin Costner channeling Liam Neeson in a funnier iteration of “Taken.” …for anyone who wants to simply check their brain at the door, “3 Days to Kill” offers plenty of mindless thrills…
Christa Banister, Crosswalk
…Intended Audience: People who questioned, “Should I stay home and read a book or go to a movie?” and wrongly chose movie going.
Phil Boatwright, Preview Family Movie and TV Review

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