Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) is a professional cleaner for the CIA. He has always been overly-devoted to his job, at the sacrifice of his own family life. He has been separated from his family for the past five years, but when he is diagnosed with a terminal disease, he decides to hang up his gun, move back to Paris, and reconnect with his wife (Connie Nielsen) and daughter (Hailee Steinfeld).

However, mysterious CIA agent Vivi Delay (Amber Heard) soon shows up at his door and makes him an offer—an experimental drug that may cure him in exchange for one last kill. So now Ethan has three days to find and eliminate a man known only as “The Wolf”. Coincidentally, his wife Christine has left him in charge of their teenage daughter Zooey for the next 3 days while she is away on business. So now Ethan must balance being the father he never was while also trying to hunt down a ruthless killer.

3 Days To Kill was written by the amazing Luc Besson, and directed by another man who is well-known for his action/comedy work, McG. This film gives viewers a wonderful blend of action, drama and humor. The movie has an emotional core in the story of Ethan trying to reconnect with his wife and daughter, trying to make up for missed opportunities and lost time. Add to that story the layer of his job as a cleaner and his last mission, with all kinds of exciting car chases, shootouts, fist fights, explosions and lots of other amazing action sequences. Merging these two worlds opens the door for lots of humor. Throughout the film it seems like Zooey has a knack for calling her father while he is in the middle of torturing someone for information, and Ethan uses these opportunities to get fatherly advice from his victims. There is also a fun running side plot involving a family of squatters who have taken over Ethan’s apartment.

Kevin Costner is great in this film. He plays a believable tough guy and action hero, but also delivers on the dramatic side of his role as well. Connie Nielsen and Hailee Steinfeld also deliver great dramatic performances as the women who are at first skeptical of restarting a relationship with the absentee Ethan, but warm to him over time. And Amber Heard is a great addition to the cast as the femme fatale who is giving Ethan his orders—she also delivers on the action and humor in the film.

The film looks and sounds great on this Blu-ray. The Paris and other European city backdrops look breathtaking, and the picture is crisp and clear, even during the heavy action scenes. And in the sequences where Ethan becomes dizzy and disoriented due to his illness, the visual and aural effects really give the viewer a sense of what Ethan is going through. During these scenes, the sound effect of Ethan’s irregular heartbeat also adds to the viewer experience. The soundtrack really captures all of the dialogue and every gunshot, explosion, punch and kick, bringing the viewer into the action.

This Blu-ray contains both the original theatrical cut and an extended cut of the film (which runs about five minutes longer). Whenever given the choice, I always choose to watch the extended cut, and that is what I watched for this review. I’m not sure what is different in those additional five minutes. As for other bonus features, the Blu-ray contains an Ultraviolet DigitalHD copy of the theatrical cut, about 20 minutes of interview featurettes and a trailer.

What’s Included:

Film:

Blu-ray:
• Extended Cut (2:02:18)
• Theatrical Version (1:57:02)
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

DVD:

• Theatrical Version Only
• 480p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 5/20/2017):

• Theatrical Version Only
• UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Vudu or Target Ticket

Extras (Blu-ray only, except where marked with *):

• The Making of 3 Days To Kill (9:55)
  The cast and creators talk about the mixed genres of the script, the characters, working with the rest of the cast, and shooting in Paris. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director McG, and stars Kevin Costner (“Ethan Renner”), Amber Heard (“Vivi”), Hailee Steinfeld (“Zooey Renner”) and Connie Nielsen (“Christine Renner”).
• McG’s Method (4:39)
  Director McG talks about taking his American-style of filmmaking to France, working with Luc Besson, and shooting his first film digitally. Also includes interviews with stars Kevin Costner, Hailee Steinfeld, Amber Heard and Connie Nielsen, production designer Sebastien Inizan, costume designer Olivier Beriot and stunt coordinator Dominique Fouassier.
• Covert Operation* (5:08)
  Former CIA operative Robert Baer talks about his own experiences in the world of undercover espionage.
• Theatrical Trailer* (2:25)
• Sneak Peek* (15:59)
  Play All or select from trailers for “Out of the Furnace”, “RoboCop”, “Oculus”, “Brick Mansions”, “Devil’s Due”, The Bridge Season 1, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, and “Dom Hemingway”

Final Thoughts:

3 Days To Kill was written by Luc Besson, and has his signature mix of drama, action and humor. This Blu-ray contains two cuts of the film, along with 20 minutes of cast/creator interviews and an UltraViolet DigitalHD copy of the theatrical cut of the film. While the supplements are a little slim, I did find the interviews interesting. The film itself is really entertaining, and looks amazing on this Blu-ray release. This is definitely worth checking out!