Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘3 Days to Kill’

Written by Scott Edwards

When not being around your family for extended amounts of time, it is difficult to come walking back into their lives. Even if you have the best intentions of making things right for everything that you have missed over the years, you may find that you are not welcomed with open arms. It gets harder if kids are thrown into the equation, especially if they do not really know who you are. You just need to stick with it and try to be a part of their lives and not shy away from the difficult times, especially if you are the one asking for their love.

With a new task being thrown at her by the top brass at the CIA, Vivi knows that she will not be able to accomplish it without help. Seeing that one of the agency’s top killers is headed for retirement with brain cancer, she may be able to offer him something to live for. Being able to track down Ethan Renner and knowing everything about him, she offers him an experimental drug that could take the pain away, but on one condition, that he helps her locate a foreign operative, The Wolf.  With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Ethan reluctantly takes the job but quickly finds out that he is not being given all of the information that he needs to fulfill his contract.

Returning to his flat in Paris, Ethan is surprised to see that there is another family living there. Although he needs his space for spy work, he makes a deal with the family to hang around until their unborn baby arrives. Needing a place to stay, he is able to convince his wife to allow him to stay at her place with their daughter Zooey. Not knowing if the drug that he is being given will extend his life, Ethan knows the importance of being a part of his daughter’s life and will do anything to be with her. When Tina is called away for work, Ethan is left in charge of keeping Zooey out of trouble, but he also has the task at hand to follow the breadcrumbs and find The Wolf. Needing to juggle the jobs of being an assassin and a father is taxing on Ethan however and when the side effects of the drug take their toll on him, he finds out that this will not be an easy transition.

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You know, when you think about spy movies where one is about to retire, you think that they might lose a step, but Ethan seems to be entering his prime. With the side effects of the drug causing his heart rate to skyrocket, the only way to keep them at bay is a couple of drinks of vodka, and Paris seems to have plenty of it lying around. I really liked the interactions between Ethan and Zooey about life lessons and watching as he taught his fatherless daughter to ride a bike was just precious. But what I loved about the movie was the interrogations that took place and how Zooey always seemed to need him while he was working. Needing help to become a better father, Ethan turns to a mark for advice whenever the going gets rough and finds out that parenting cannot always be done on the fly.

Five Takeaways

1. Always read the side effects of a drug that you are taking, no matter how many pages it is.
2. Vodka is a cure all, make sure to have some around if you are a CIA agent.
3. If you get into a fight at a deli, make sure to use the Panini press, it makes for a good weapon.
4. Always make sure that the family that lives in your old home is cool with you bringing over visitors to beat up in the bathroom.
5. NOBODY likes a purple bike.

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