From Paris with Love

While there is no shortage of people jockeying for position in line to condemn Luc Besson, there's no denying the entertainment of his action movies. Over the past ten years the man has given us Kiss of the Dragon, the Transporter franchise, and Taken. These movies will never be up for any major awards but they are still worth the money and time for action fans.

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers plays James Reese, the personal assistant to the American Ambassador in France who does odd, low-level covert jobs on the side. He longs for the big leagues, and gets his wish (to the extreme) when he's suddenly partnered with the flamboyant Charlie Wax (an OTT John Travolta, who really seems to be enjoying himself). Wax has a mission in Paris, but he's keeping the full details from Reese, gradually letting him further into the tangle of twists as the elaborate story unfolds. Racking up a body count of more than one an hour in the process.

The Travolta/Meyers double-act mostly pays off, but, like Reese, the audience is left out in the cold for the duration. Meyers doesn't do much but stand aside while Travolta rampages through posses of bad guys. I know he's the 'everyman' we can identify with, thus giving us a smoother insight into the world of espionage, but if he was just given a tiny bit more to do than stand around wide-eyed and frightened the film would have gotten a higher rating from me.

As 90-minute fluff we're talking serious entertainment here. If you're wanting more profound film-making look elsewhere (not that Besson is incapable of this either). From Paris With Love doesn't rewrite the rules of the action or spy genre, but it does play every expected note loudly and maniacally. Exactly how many films have a bald, goatee-sporting John Travolta hanging out of a car window talking on the phone in one hand with a giant mofo rocket-launcher in the other?

Pierre Morel & Luc Besson delivered one of the best action films of the last decade, Taken. Even people who typically despise the action genre were won over by it. So where do Pierre & Besson head from here? They made the move to appeal solely to the action fan base. From Paris With Love is made for genre fans, not your average movie-goer. The first 20 minutes are spent with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and it feels a little slow. Once John Travolta's character comes into the story the film takes off like a roller-coaster. His charisma gives the film an extra kick and it gives much of the action a new flavor. Once the fun starts it doesn't stop. Whenever you think this film is slowing down it's really getting ready for the next shootout. You're on the edge of your seat until the very end. Actually, one of my two complaints is the end (I won't spoil anything). Let's just say the last 5 minutes feel a little rushed. If you loved going to the theater to see Live Free Or Die Hard, Rambo, & Taken than this is for you.

Please be gentle, this is my first review.

First of all, Travolta is back! Since Pulp Fiction, where I really enjoyed his play, I always had the feeling that his acting was about skin-deep. What happened in this movie is an invention of a new old-school action hero which would have stood in one line with Willis, Stallone and Schwarzenegger without trying to be one of them. He's powerful, funny and seriously "true" without being ridiculously over-torqued like in Pelham 123 or Face-off.

Basically you need to enjoy old-school action movies to like this. The storyline must have come to the writers mind while brushing his teeth in the morning - It's solid, well grounded, but a little bit too compressed for a 90 min movie. Concerning the speed of this movie, the camera work is fantastic and the cut allows to enjoy the action at it's fullest. (In the last years there were many movies of this type with a cut/camera like a flip-book with missing pages, which made them completely unenjoyable.)

I would like to see more movies of this type in the next years. It's not pretending to be more than what it is: Solid "hero-action" with a proper sidekick.

This movie is basically about two guys going around blowing stuff up in Paris. And the plot of them trying to take down a terrorist organization is just there to move the movie along because, even for films like this there has to be some sort of plot. And everything in this is nothing you haven't seen before with the explosions and gun fights and all, but something about the film just makes it pretty damn entertaining. I mean the plot with the by the book dude teaming up with a loose cannon crazy guy has been done before, but the elements of bad ass and witty and fast paced dialogue and maybe some other stuff makes it really entertaining to watch, even if the twist near the end was pretty predictable as the rest of the movie. Jonathan Rhys Meyers who plays a character that plays by the book was pretty boring and he takes up the first few couple of minutes of the movie, but when John Travolta comes in, well lets just say it's one hell of a ride. He basically plays Charlie Wax, a reckless guy that is a bit crazy but always gets things done. Just turn your brain off and enjoy this movie for what it is, not every film has to be smart to be enjoyable.

7.5/10

A young spy who wants to get bigger and better jobs is partnered with an American hot head with a foul mouth and a love for violence. The mission is to stop some terrorists.

To say I was expecting crap would be an understatement. Travolta's goofy look, a tired clichéd pairing of straight man and crazy partner, senseless action that would try to cram a plot and story in at some point. Yet, after the credits rolled, I sat there with a smile on my face. As far as spy films go, this one takes a more action heavy side. There are some cool and interesting gadgets, but I didn't get any James Bond moment.

Travolta surprised me here too. His character was funny, bad ass at times and knew how to kick some ass. The only downside would be that I just couldn't imagine Travolta doing half of these things. He's a great character and fits perfectly with this film, but it seems a tad miscast for the action sequences. Travolta nails every other part of the role. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the straight man to Travolta's crazy hero. This is nothing new and the film doesn't try to step around this issue. Instead it is upfront about it. It tells you exactly what you are in for when you are introduced to these characters. All it asks is for you, as a viewer, to enjoy the action and thrills this film wants to give you.

The action is non-stop. Of course we are privy to those scenes in between where we need to move the plot along, but the film has shootouts, car chases, foot chases, rocket launchers, etc. It's handled well and I was actually able to see the action on the screen. I was never lost in the film, I knew where I was the whole time and what was being depicted. Again, that one shortfall is that we know Travolta isn't doing these action sequences, it's clearly a stuntman.

With every spy film you know there will be some twist that someone is not who they seem to be. I was able to pick this one out right from the beginning. Again, the plot devices used in From Paris With Love are far from original, we have all seen this film before. So why bother watching it? For the chemistry between the two leads and the action sequences in a beautiful city. The city, we unfortunately, did not see enough of.

I went in with low expectations and came out happy with the end result. I would suggest you do the same.