Summary
A 2001 action thriller sawKevin Costnermake a bold attempt to shatter his good guy typecasting, but it was destined to fail. Costner had one of the all-time movie star runs during the late 1980s and 1990s, starring in projects that were both box-office hitsandearned critical kudos.Kevin Costner movieslikeThe Untouchables,JFKandDances with Wolvesmade it look like he was, well, untouchable. Sadly, the perceived failure of his 1995 blockbusterWaterworlddinged his reputation, and many of his follow-ups like3000 Miles to GracelandorFor Love of the Gamealso disappointed.
Of course, this is the narrative arc of most A-lister actors, who will have a run of success before an inevitable decline. In many cases, they will have a comeback that reminds everybody how great they can be. Costner has had several of those projects, withYellowstonebeing the most obvious example. Even though Costner’s John Dutton is willing to break the law or commit murder to protect his land in the Paramount series, audiencesstillsee his character as heroic.
3000 Miles To Graceland Saw Kevin Costner Trying To Shatter His “All-American” Image By Playing A Villain
Costner wanted 3000 Miles to Graceland to be controversial
In 3000 Miles to Graceland,Costner plays a bloodthirsty criminal named Murphy, who is willing to kill whoever stands in his way - or sometimes just for the sheer fun of it.
Moving into the 2000s, Costner badly wanted to shake up his screen image. To that end, he signed up for3000 Miles to Graceland, a violent heist thriller where a group of thieves robs a casino during an Elvis convention. Armed with a great premise and co-starKurt Russell getting to play Elvis again(sort of), the film looked like a surefire winner; on paper, at least. Talking toEW(viaABC News) before the film’s 2001 debut,Costner said he wanted3000 Miles to Gracelandto shake off his squeaky clean image as “that Field of Dreams guy.”
Indeed, most of Costner’s roles for the prior two decades had been as clean-cut heroic figures, including Robin Hood and Wyatt Earp. In3000 Miles to Graceland,Costner plays a bloodthirsty criminal named Murphy, who is willing to kill whoever stands in his way - or sometimes just for the sheer fun of it. Costner also toldEWhe hoped the movie’s violence would be controversial. From the film’s Tarantino-inspired quippy dialogue to its John Woo-infused action, it was simply unlike anything Costner had tried before.
It’s a real shame that3000 Miles to Gracelandwas also a mess. The heist should have been the focus, but instead, it only makes up the first act. It then becomes a meandering road trip, where Russell’s good-hearted criminal Michael makes off with the heist money and is pursuedTerminator-style by Costner’s vengeful villain. Costner is a total blast in3000 Miles to Gracelandand indeed shatters his heroic image,but the film only earned a dire 15% rating onRotten Tomatoesand grossed less than $20 million worldwide (viaThe Numbers).
Costner & Kurt Russell Feuded Over 3000 Miles To Graceland’s Tone
This wasn’t the first time Costner and Russell clashed over a project
One of the selling points of3000 Miles to Gracelandwas the pairing of Costner with Kurt Russell. Both were big names in the ’80s and ’90s, though by 2001 they were coming off the back of some underperformers. They also famously played Wyatt Earp in competing projects, with Russell’sTombstonebeating out Costner’sWyatt Earp. Casting them as friends turned enemies gave the heist thriller some meta-tension, but the two actors later disagreed over the movie’s focus.
3000 Miles To Graceland: Is Kurt Russell’s Michael Really Elvis' Son?
3000 Miles To Graceland is a cult heist movie from 2001 starring Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell, but is the latter’s character really Elvis' son?
It was reported in late 2000 thatRussell and Costner edited different cuts of3000 Miles to Graceland, with the studio testing both to see which scored higher. Russell’s version was more comedic and made the romance between his and Cox’s characters the focus, while Costner’s edit was more violent and action-packed. The movie’s writer/director Demian Lichtenstein reportedly had no issue with this, and Costner’s cut was declared the winner after scoring higher during test screenings.
3000 Miles to Gracelandalso implies that Costner and Russell’s characters are both illegitimate children of Elvis Presley, making them half brothers.
3000 Miles To Graceland’s Failure Spoiled Costner’s Villain Ambitions
3000 Miles to Graceland could have changed Costner’s screen image
Costner was considered one of the best things about3000 Miles to Graceland, but the film was quickly forgotten. Fans of the actor owe the thriller at least a curiosity viewing, since it’s possibly his loosest, funniest performance. He was clearly having a blast inhabiting such a vile character, but it was another flop in an unfortunate run, including his 1997 epicThe Postman.In the aftermath of3000 Miles to Graceland’sfailure, Costner went back to more heroic partsin films likeOpen Range.
His role as Murphy didn’t alter his career the way he hoped, though he played another villain in 2007’sMr Brooks. This cast him as the titular character, an upstanding businessman who has a murderous alter ego, with his id being embodied by William Hurt’s Marshall. The film contains Costner’s most underrated work as a performer, but like3000 Miles to Graceland, the surrounding film is messy. The Costner/Hurt half works great, but Demi Moore’s subplot as the detective chasing them feels like it comes from a different, less compelling thriller.
3000 Miles to Graceland
Cast
3000 Miles to Graceland is a crime thriller film that follows a group of ex-cons who plan to rob a casino during a Elvis Presley impersonator convention. Led by Murphy (Kevin Costner) and Hanson (Kurt Russell), the group’s heist goes awry, and they must evade the authorities and other criminals to get away with the loot.
