Movie Review: “From Paris with Love”

Seen on: February 2, 2010

The players: Director: Pierre Morel, Writer: Adi Hasak, Cast: John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kasia Smutniak, Richard Durden

Facts of interest: Pierre Morel also directed "Taken."

The plot: A Paris-based agent teams up with a badass U.S. agent to stop a terrorist attack planned on French soil.

Our thoughts: Following his surprise hit “Taken,” Pierre Morel returns to the big screen with “From Paris with Love.” Don’t be fooled by the title though, because this is not a romantic story set in the city of love. On the contrary, this film is an outrageously ridiculous and yet quite entertaining action comedy filled with stupid action, bad dialogue and a totally crazy performance by John Travolta.

Crazy is the best word to describe this one, for sure. Even though “From Paris with Love” is just as over the top as Morel’s previous thriller “Taken,” I admit it’s by not as intense, suspenseful or fast-paced. That said, I also admit I didn’t hate “Love,” one of the reasons being Travolta’s badass character and his unbelievable energy.

Let’s be honest: if it weren’t for Travolta’s amusing performance, “From Paris with Love” would totally suck. This time, he plays Charlie Wax, a high-ranking U.S. agent who arrives in France to fight terrorism along with his new partner James Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a Paris-based intelligence officer who’s been dying to get a promotion and inject his rather dull job with new energy.

That’s exactly what happens when he meets Wax, an eccentric tough guy who prefers to shoot first and ask questions later. Wax shows Reece a crazy world he never thought existed, and before they know it, the two agents find themselves on a perilous, high-speed mission to take down a drug organization and stop a nasty terrorist attack on French soil.

I bet you can already guess where all this mess is heading. Ridiculously overblown and simplistic, “From Paris with Love” certainly doesn’t score in the writing department. The film’s plot is as chaotic as the roads in Paris during rush hour, and most of what you see unfold on the big screen doesn’t even make that much sense. This is a film simply trying to entertain viewers, and as such, it does an okay job.

No, “From Paris with Love” is not a superb big-screen adventure, but I admit Morel proves yet again that he is capable of developing a series of fast-paced action sequences that are pleasing to watch and actually can catch and hold your attention for more than five minutes. It’s only too bad that this film doesn’t include too many of these moments, because at times, “Paris” does drag on a tad too much…

Let’s get back to Travolta. Not only does his character manage to pull off the film’s only jokes (most of them are bad, but Travolta still makes them work), but he’s also someone I wanted to keep watching. Travolta does a fairly decent job portraying an utterly implausible badass agent who shoots everyone he encounters and has a weakness for a good American burger, and thanks to him, “Paris” doesn’t collapse.

Freaky quote: "Shoot the fucker." - John Travolta

The final word: Summing up, “From Paris with Love” is an action piece about two agents running around France’ capital eliminating bad guys and blowing up shit. That’s all there is to it. None of this is superbly entertaining or intriguing, really, but I admit it’s not too boring either. That last thing I want to see is a boring Travolta film.

Article by Franck Tabouring