Watch From Paris with Love
Watch From Paris with Love movie
- IMDB rating: 6.50
- IMDB votes: 10045
- Release Date: 2010
- Category:
- Action /
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- Following the mysterious death of Doakes in a gas explosion at the Everglades shack, the evidence overwhelmingly points to Doakes being the Bay Harbor Butcher. Agent Lundy officially closes the case. Dexter takes a closer look at the evidence from the shack explosion, and pieces together what happened there. A high-stakes showdown with the formidable Lila commences.
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Added: 1 February 2010
Vote: 18
Come On Now People. Cinematography Is Only ONE Aspect of Film-making
While perusing IMDb comments lately I've noticed a rather interestingperspective that glorifies cinematography as if it's the onlymeaningful aspect of film-making. I always thought that things likedirecting, acting, scriptwriting, action choreography, andpost-production (only to name a few) are all important parts of makingan entertaining film. Realistically, almost every film is lacking insome of these elements, but the good movies make up for it by excellingin others. Unfortunately, lots of people apparently think thatcinematography alone can carry a film. I disagree, and From Paris withLove provides a case in point.
This movie is essentially an action/comedy, which to me automaticallysignals an emphasis on action choreography and humor. The mostentertaining films of this genre take the fight scenes to exceptionallevels while sprinkling in some good laughs along the way – e.g., TheLegend of Drunken Master (1994). From Paris with Love, on the otherhand, provides subpar humor and downright atrocious gun play. Iactually liked the lead actress and actor in other American films I'veseen, but they were not utilized well at all here. Quite frankly, thisfilm is a disaster. If I had known it was directed by Pierre Morel(District 13), I probably would have never watched it to begin with.Shame on me for not doing my homework.
For the record, there is a lot of action here, but it is utterlydestroyed by inept directing because the camera-work used during theaction scenes sucks to high heaven. It's almost as if the director'ssole purpose was to sabotage his own movie.
Someone should seriously tell Pierre Morel that the Andrew Lau/Wong KarWai Wuxia method of "slideshow" photography is the single worst way tofilm a fight scene, primarily because the viewer cannot see what thehell is going on (ala Storm Riders and Ashes of Time). Someone shouldalso tell him to stop aiming the camera at walls and start aiming thecamera at the actors. After suffering through Pierre Morel's District13 and this feat of idiocy, I pray to God this imbecile never makesanother action film. And if he does, I pray that I'm not stupid enoughto watch it.
Which brings me to the cinematography. Lots of reviewers here haveclaimed that the cinematography of From Paris with Love carries thefilm. I see this reasoning often, and quite frequently the mostoverrated movies are those with good cinematography, because the peoplewho love them conveniently forget that everything else sucks badly –e.g., Akira Kurosawa's Dreams. Hey, I love great cinematography too,but the movie has to have SOMETHING else, lest it be a very pretty buthollow shell. For example, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's films have excellentatmosphere, but without innovative philosophical concepts they would bepractically worthless, like this film.
Everyone mocks me because I consider MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER (1994) to beone of the most entertaining in this genre, yet I'm vindicated everytime a crappy action like From Paris with Love comes out. Go figure.
Added: 9 February 2010
Vote: 4
Imaginative but slackly plotted film which never quite fulfills its potential
Within 5 minutes, this film completely blew me away. The dreamy musicand atmosphere just did it for me. There's not much of a plot, justreoccurring images of space and pools. This gets by pretty much just onatmosphere alone. Luckily, it's some of the best atmosphere you'relikely to find in a movie.
Some insane editing, awesome direction, and beautiful cinematography ofParisian cityscapes seal the deal for me. Trippy as hell, with speakingdolphins and odd, 5 minute shots of people diving into pools.
Some kind of masterpiece I need to watch a few more times to completelywrap my head around.
Added: 3 February 2010
Vote: 1
Not bad - but...
As another commenter around here was pointing out, it's indeed aformulaic and enjoyable movie. Not to be taken seriously at all (as thetitle itself suggests, being a paraphrase of James Bond's "From RussiaWith Love"), plenty of unlikely action, demented violence and sparklinghumor with a strong black touch. The script is precisely and flexiblyarticulated, starting from a well-known recipe (it mainly reminded meArthur Hiller's "The In-Laws"), only to spin off onto sundry unexpectedpaths.
Unfortunately, the best twist (about the fianc?e) soon fails into asugary and melodramatic ending, totally out-of-touch with theexpectations that the whole movie set before that. As such, we can behappy with four fifths of it all - a nervous narrative, well told andshot, and mainly another surprising composition of Travolta, an actorthat never ceases to amaze us. Definitely, after the parts in"Hairspray" and "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3", this is anotherimprobable character well mastered to be hung at his belt. Nice job,Johnny - what are you saving for us in the future? ;)
Added: 9 February 2010
Vote: 1
Move over John McClain - Charlie Wax is in town
I saw this movie once when it was called THE TRANSPORTER. I also saw itwhen it was called DIE HARD. This is a different kind of movie wherethe super good guy who is also kind of bad, Charlie Wax - is broughtout of the woodwork to deal with terrorists. Nobody really knows whereWax comes from but simply that he "gets the job done". My favorite partis when he is ordering Chinese food and gets mad at the waiter for notknowing Chinese. He decides to shoot the ceiling and cocaine comes outof the rafters. That's when the other guy puts it all in a vase andthen Wax and he run off. There is another funny scene where Wax shootsthis lady in the head. My friend Jake liked this movie and I told himthat another good scene was when Wax did a head first move DOWN afireman's pole as he fired his pistol. That was a great scene. All inall a good movie with a John Woo feel to it.
User: stbsoloAdded: 6 February 2010
Vote: 18
Eight? Seriously?
There are some people who will dive deep into this as "film" and chopit up when it comes to directing, camera work, plot, and every otherway they can criticize the "art" of film. My eight isn't based on anyof that deep, appreciated acclaim good films get.
This was a movie. A movie you go watch when you want to be entertained.Guess what? If you're the type who WANT to go watch a movie like this,you'll like it. It is like Bourne meets comedy. If you're a Travoltafan, an action fan, a comedy fan, or a fan of pretty French women (Iguess, she sounded French to me), you'll enjoy this. If you're anindustry hound or a "theatre" major or graduate, you probably won't.Big deal? It's not called "From Paris with Love: The CinematicMasterpiece" for a reason - it's a movie! To entertain people who wantto watch entertaining movies.
Travolta's great and it is funny. It is over the top and predictable.Watch it any way, you wouldn't be looking at its page if you weren'tsomewhat interested...
Added: 7 February 2010
Vote: 5
From Paris with Mayhem!
This disposable but stylish contemporary action thriller set in exoticParis, France, casts John Travolta as a 1980's type trigger-happy,quick-witted, jive-talking U.S. Government secret agent who shootsfirst and asks questions later. Travolta looks ultra-cool with hisnoggin neatly shaved like Blofield, the iconic villain from the JamesBond franchise, and he handles firearms of all sorts like Wild BillHickok in a shooting gallery. Travolta has not capped this many badguys since he made the John Woo thriller "Broken Arrow" in 1996. Mindyou, Travolta was the bad guy in "Broken Arrow," while he plays thefront and center hero in this explosive Lionsgate release.Unfortunately, "From Paris with Love" surpasses neither "Broken Arrow"nor the other shoot'em up saga that he made with John Woo entitled"Face/Off." Furthermore, "From Paris with Love" does not top"Swordfish" for sheer audacity. Nevertheless, this nimble 95-minutebuddy picture qualifies as a good beer and pizza movie. After you watch"From Paris with Love," you can talk about how cheesy but cool it wasover beer and pizza.
"Taken" director Pierre Morel rarely takes pit stops for garrulousdialogue interludes in this adrenaline-laced, serio-comic, big, dumbactioneer about terrorists. The chief problem with "From Paris withLove" is the absence of an intimidating villain who tries to triumphover the heroes. Indeed, the villain is crafty, but the hero'sapprentice has little difficulty removing the villain as a threat atfade-0ut. The next problem is the heroes save the day, but the dayseems inconsequential when it consists of anonymous diplomats at aU.S./African Aid Summit in Paris with no important world leadersexposing themselves as targets. Despite these shortcomings, Travoltahams everything up with exhilarating abandon. He looks like he had ablast playing a hopelessly over-the-top hero who has a Steven Seagalknack for triumphing over multiple villains at close quarters. Watchthe way that our hero dispatches a gang of street hooligans with hisbare hands. The message of this fast-paced, but predictablebullet-riddled melodrama is that you cannot reason with terrorists.Don't talk to a terrorist. Blast the idiot! The outlandish Travoltaprotagonist spends the entire time trying to hammer this strategy intothe head of his new, inexperienced partner. Basically, "From Paris withLove" resembles those vintage westerns where the old gunfighter teachesthe new gunfighter just enough to survive. Travolta indoctrinates hisna?ve apprentice in the secrets of being a secret agent with a licenseto kill.
As "From Paris with Love" opens, an efficient, well-dressed EmbassyAssistant to the American Ambassador, James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyersof "The Tudors"), carries out several low-profile assignments on thecuff for U.S. Intelligence. Reese swaps out license plates on a car inan underground garage and later plants a bug a high-ranking Frenchdiplomat's office. When the gum he chews doesn't keep the bug stuck inplace under a table, Reese lingers a moment after everybody else hasleft to staple the micro-sized listening device to the furniture. "FromParis with Love" chronicles Reese's journey-of-hardship from an errandboy to a top gun. Apparently, pleased with his performance, U.S. Intelsummons Reese 'on short notice' and promise to make him an agency spookif he can cut some red tape at French customs so a bearded, bald-headedoperative, Charlie Wax (John Travolta of "Old Dogs"), can enter thecountry. Moments before he meets Charlie, Reese became engaged to hisgirlfriend Caroline (Kasia Smutniak of "Radio West"), who likes to turnup in the strangest places. Since Reese is constantly on the run,Caroline gives him her father's ring and proposes marriage. The catchis that he cannot remove the ring. Once Reese turns Wax loose, "FromParis with Love" never wanes.
Our heroes visit a Chinese restaurant where a large stash of cocaine isconcealed in the attic, but the holes that Charlie puts into theceiling cannot rival all the holes that he puts into the staff thatcharge him wielding submachine guns. A running sight gag for a while isthat Reese has to tote around a vase filled with a large amount ofwhite powder that Charlie discovered after he blew those holes in theceiling of the Chinese restaurant. Our heroes blast their way into theunderworld of narcotics smugglers and later terrorists who prefer toblast themselves to their Kingdom Come after they have wiped outeverybody around them. One terrorist who refuses to face justice takesa gun and blows himself away. "From Paris with Love" boasts twosingular scenes. The first follows Reese as he ascends a spiralstaircase after Wax has scrambled up it. The corpses of Wax'sadversaries that Wax plunge down the spiral stairs. Some tumble pastReese as he climbs the stairs. You only see the falling bodies, not thebloody bullet holes that turned themselves into Unidentified FallingObjects. Later, intrepid Charlie pursues a villain trying to escapeacross the rooftops of Paris, and Charles' method of pursuit isunusual. Mind you, nobody should try to duplicate it.
Based on a story by Luc Besson of "The Transporter" trilogy, "FromParis with Love" unfolds as a formulaic, non-stop, high-octaneactioneer with explosions, gunfire, and corpses galore. "ShadowConspiracy" scenarist Adi Hasak piles on one preposterous incidentafter another as Chinese cocaine smugglers and Arabic terrorist suicidebombers collaborate in a fantasy that could only have been cooked up inthe Bush White House to slaughter government officials at an Africantrade mission. Wow, if only terrorists were as foolhardy as they aredepicted in "From Paris with Love," then the war on terror would be apicnic. Anybody who enjoys this kind of violent nonsense will figureout what the three surprises are that ensue at intervals. One surpriseis purely visceral, while another is telegraphed earlier. Above all,Morel orchestrates the gunfights with flair and Paris looks as scenicas ever.
Added: 8 February 2010
Vote: 4
I do not believe this movie was made by team Besson and Pierre Morel
I am a follower of Besson since THE DEEP BLUE; he was considered theFrench Spielberg however many times it would be fair to say thatSpielberg is the American's Besson. As a director but also as writer orproducer, he was able to create very entertaining movies with farmodest budgets than Spielberg and not relaying on digital effects butwell defined characters and awesome physical talents. Just look at theoutstanding "LA FEMME NIKITA" or "LEON The Professional" where the youlove this two cold blooded assassins perhaps because they areimperfectly humans or incredible stunts in "DISCTRICT 13 or Banlieue13"; a movie able to make you hold your breath more than once. PierreMorel does not have such a resume, however he directed "BANLIEUE 13"and "TAKEN" two very successful movies. TAKEN made almost 200 millionsin USA and DISCTRICT 13 should had do something similar but never got awide release perhaps because Hollywood cannot make this movies thatinvolves risk for stunts and actors. In any case these two movies has asimple but effective character development that FROM Paris WITH LOVElacks. The fact that Travolta was on board, makes me feel thatsomething is not right or true here. Nobody is better than Travoltacreating the bad guys or the very good guys. He might be needing money,but for a star like him is better to get involved in a lame comedywhere he can outshine the rest than in an action thriller interpretinga not likable psycho (who is the good guy). He got far more on his badguy in PELHAM 123 which was a worse movie. As happened before; Ibelieve that Hollywood re-cut and re-edit the movie to make it asshallow as American public will digest and took over creative controlover the French team at least in the version shown in USA. Or they weremaking a violent video game where the only important thing is to killand kill. There is no other explanation on a film that is very racist(bad guys are Chinese and Arabs), justify gratuitous killings and askus to accept a psycho and a person betraying his own boss (anddemocracy) as heroes.
User: Max_cinefilo89Added: 6 February 2010
Vote: 14
With love maybe, but not originality
It's hard to know exactly what to think of Luc Besson's careerpost-L?on: as a writer/producer, he's responsible for dumb but funactioners like Taxi (the French original, not the US remake) and TheTransporter; as a director, he has come up with the pretentious Joan ofArc and the atrocious Arthur franchise (which is supposed to be hislast directorial project). Since From Paris with Love falls in thefirst category, it was easy to expect something decent. Instead, we geta by-numbers, smug, overblown film whose only merit is leaving thetitular city relatively intact come the closing credits (remember thenanomites in G.I. Joe?).
The plot revolves around James Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), theAmerican ambassador's personal aide in Paris. Unbeknownst to his boss,Reece has been doing some spy work on the side, and his most recentactions have earned attention from the right people, to the point thathe's asked to go on a mission right when he and his girlfriend (KasiaSmutniak) are supposed to celebrate their engagement. His assignment?To help bad-ass agent Charlie Wax (John Travolta) as the latter has todeal with a potential terrorist threat. Cue shootouts, car chases andsome good old swearing.
On paper, there was some potential for the movie, as director PierreMorel knows how to handle the action stuff. Unfortunately, he keepsstaging one loud set piece after the other, leaving no time for breathor, more crucially, character development: the villains are bland (noprizes for guessing their origin), the sudden "twist" pretty muchphoned-in and the final act plain embarrassing. The leading duo couldwork just fine, were it not for the fact that Travolta, still lookinglike his Pelham 1 2 3 bad guy, is on tired autopilot and Meyers, bestknown for playing Henry VIII on The Tudors, doesn't seem to be at easein a non-British role (despite a passable American accent). As for thescript's two blatant film references ("Wax on, wax off" and a quotefrom Pulp Fiction), they were probably meant to be comic asides butcome off as cringe-worthy moments instead.
In short, From Paris with Love should appeal to action-junkies, butwears pretty thin quite fast. Also, why bother to put the city's namein the title when, breakfast on the Eiffel Tower aside, Charlie Wax'sviolent odyssey could easily have taken place anywhere else? So muchfor the love...
Added: 7 February 2010
Vote: 8
Solid, Entertaining, Thoughtful Action-Thriller
This action-thriller had great balance for its genre and an appropriatefor once set-up in character development for the relational element ofthis movie that was of particular importance. The balance of drama,action, mystery, and sprinklings of humor made for a nicely editing,paced movie that started slow but kept building to a nice simmer. JohnTravolta brings some of his Pulp Fiction (1994), French's McDonald'sBig Mac back to the screen once again. The action duo in this movie hasa biting chemistry that has a discordant sparkle that is refreshing.While in some ways the plot is pretty straight forward with a decenttwist, the movie remained solidly on course with plenty of action,except the lazily designed chase scene with evenly placed cars onceagain (as found in a multitude of chase scene movies), and has anemotionally potent climax by the end of the movie. This is an aboveaverage action-thriller that is worth seeing.
User: alex (doorsscorpywag)Added: 28 February 2010
Vote: 7
Total Dog Poop
Who would have thought JT would make a film worse than BattlefieldEarth but this pile of dogsh#t makes BE look like one of the mostintelligent films of all time. The 'Plot' loosely consists of aseriously deranged and insane racist American psychopath who lands inFrance and goes on a set of 'mental' killing sprees to prevent aterrorist attack on without doubt the worst guarded summit in humanhistory.
JT seems nowadays to have it in his contract that he must say'motherflipper' about once a minute and as in his last mess, 'Pelham123', portrays a pointless madman who shoots people at the drop of ahat and shouts and swears loudly for no sensible reason. It's a shameas JT is indeed a good actor and I like the guy a lot and used to enjoyhis movies. I don't know what sort of cretins this drivel is directedat but you have to be a bit sad to be entertained by such garbage.Action movies tend to ask that you turn off huge sections of the brainand thats OK, as most of the time they are fun and sometimes even havea clever story, but this kind of film takes the word 'moronic' to a newand dangerous dimension. The plot holes are a chasm of stupidity thatthe USA can just wander into any country they like and start wiping outtheir citizens.....oh wait I forgot!
Anyway James Bond it isn't and the plot and acting are non existent ina film that lurches from one pointless massacre to the next until theridiculously long dragged out end piece when we see how ineffectivesecurity is for the top folks so we proles are indeed all in deep poop.
JT here's hoping you return to actually acting soon as you are a fineactor mate and need to stop associating yourself with utter crap likethis and Pelham 123.
Added: 5 March 2010
Vote: 6
Absolute crap
What a waste of time.
A palliative for silly little boys, seeking improbable scenes,ridiculous plot lines, cheesy dialogue etc.
On the plus side, it has Parisean scenery, beautiful incidentalactresses & advertising for decent cars.
An average episode of Top Gear would beat this idiocy hands down. Theactors themselves seem to be dumbfounded, but play along. Wouldn't you?
A pity that Luc Besson has found it necessary to pander to US actionflicks to such a ridiculous extent as to strip his input of anyquality.
Audi should be proud of the RS 4 footage.
Added: 1 April 2010
Vote: 3
Glad I didn't pay to see this
Ignore the terrible story, Ignore the cookie-cutter characters, theimplausible scenarios and actions of said characters.
Its the action that makes this movie crap. Its an average buddy copmovie (switch cop for spy) now insert every action movie staple you canthink of. Triads with uzis, Check. Gunfight in mannequin warehouse,Check. Unstoppable rampage through a major city with no ramifications,Check. Faceless enemies with unclear motives, Check. Main characterbetrayed by lover, Check. Slow motion explosions, Checkaroo. Carchase.....
If the above paragraph seems drawn out its because thats how the moviewas. Throughout, Like i said above it felt like a cop movie. It almostseems like this was written to be about two cops in over their heads.Travolta's character is the absolute picture of the hard boiled vicecop. If this movie had been about regular cops I probably would haveliked it. But the image of a secret agent acting with such recklessabandon is utterly unbelievable. People like that get 'disappeared' forblowing their cover.
Added: 6 March 2010
Vote: 5
No plot ..No story.. Total. Prapaganda
well i saw the movie.. thinking that will be some mix up of action andromance.. but what i saw is totally different..director tried to imposehis point of view about who is good and who is bad.. my English is notvery well sorry for that, but the up front country of the world who isfighting against the terrorism .. who is losing her country economy andvery precious civilians and army fighter, just because to help USA andWorld to remove terrorism from the world. but still in this moviedirectors show his very negative approach about Pakistan, well ibelieve .. director has used the word Pakistan mistakenly, the actualword was India or may be Israel.. actually both.. anyways..movie gotvery negative impressions on every person who watched it with respectto story..
User: Laurie HAdded: 5 March 2010
Vote: 4
What was that?
Super hero John T kills & curses for his entire screen time whilst hissidekick cowers in the background obviously thinking what the hell am Idoing in the film! Seriously even Mr Steven Seagal would have beenembarrassed by this as our lead Travolta struts from one killing spreeto the next proving as difficult to kill as James' Bond and Bourne.Unlike those two though the set up here is beyond ridiculous with theviewer basically told to suspend all believe for the painful 92 minuteduration. The story has been recycled numerous times and with all theclich?s and terrorist propaganda you have to question how this ever goto the cinema. Both leads are normally fine actors and totallywatchable, however, this picture is a pointless pathetic plot lesspiece of crap.
User: billpeterAdded: 6 March 2010
Vote: 4
Rubbish. Complete and utter rubbish
I'm a fan of "all-action" films like the Die Hard and Bourne series,plus the Daniel Craig Bond films. However, this rubbish gives the term"all-action" a bad name. Any attempts a humour are, at best, lame, likethe quote " you're going down. You're so going down". A line used byJohn Travolta about Orson Welles, while watching "A Touch of Evil" in"Get Shorty". A good cast; John Travolta, Penelope Cruz, and the blokefrom The Tudors is wasted, apart from the bloke from The Tudors, whoappears to be not with it at all, and out of his depth. Maybe herealised how bad this travesty would turn out. Avoid like the plague.Please allow British English spelling, and get rid of the minimum often lines.
User: darkraven_109Added: 31 March 2010
Vote: 3
A mess
Obviously, "From Paris with Love" wanted to be an effectiveaction/comedy movie involving a dysfunctional and unorthodox pair ofFBI agents (the by the books guy meets the trigger happy guy kind ofthing in the vein of "Lethal Weapon")sent on a dangerous mission thatends up destroying half the city they're protecting. But that's notall; FPwL also wanted to have an intelligent political plot withmultiple twists here and there. The problem is, the whole mixingprocess failed and instead of a thinking man's action film, you get amess of action scenes and what seems to be a plot.
About the movie's good points, the action was satisfying enough andTravolta was fun to watch as the movie's badass. Aside from those,everything else makes no sense.
Here's the plot in a few sentences: first you have the duo doing aroutine drug bust. Naturally, they go after the drug manufacturers, andtake down the said drug ring. But it turns out that the drug ring is afront for a mysterious bunch of Pakistanis doing some illegal stuff.But those guys are actually a front for some screwed up Muslimterrorist group (believe me, it's really obvious which religion thewriters are targeting)who are targeting the French and the other worldleaders meeting in Paris via a suicide bomber. And as it turns out,they're going to do it by using a suicide bomber who is actually theother FBI guy's (the by the books guy) fianc?! Even if you watch themovie, it still wouldn't make much sense because of the writing.Really, it failed at being intelligent.
So the whole movie was just a mess of exploding stuff, people gettingshot, Travolta throwing multiple F-bombs and a confusing plot. Iseriously suggest avoiding this unless you just want to see Travoltayell mother f*** at everyone while holding a rocket launcher or unlessyou just want a rental to pass the night.
Added: 27 March 2010
Vote: 2
Travolta must've needed the work
First, the good news - Charlie Wax, the Travolta character, was welldrawn and humorous. The action, however, was mostly yawn-provoking,derivative Bruce Willis stuff. For the rest, the film was composed offalse stereotypes which no-one outside the States and I guess only afew hard-core Americans of the red-neck persuasion will appreciate: (1)the few French characters (it was Paris, but the French were thin onthe ground) were pompous, untrustworthy and food snobs (Charlie stuckto cheeseburgers) as well as needing to be reminded of the fact thatAmericans had come to their aid in two world wars (2) the Frenchauthorities needed the help of the Americans to clean up their city,ignoring the fact that it was French intelligence who captured Carlosthe Jackal in the Sudan, IRA bombers in Paris and Basque ETA terroristsin the Pyrenees(3)few French police were to be seen, although Francehas the highest ratio of police to population in Europe (4) Chinese,Africans and various Muslim minorities were shown as stereotypicallow-lifes who could be massacred on sight. If I had been a Chinese orMuslim movie-goer with my family I would have walked out in disgust. Infact, most of the people in the theater this evening got up and left assoon as the ending was confirmed (we'd guessed it long ago).
User: MetalcoholicAdded: 5 February 2010
Vote: 10
Watchable if not Enjoyable
If you want characters you love, a story with meaning, action scenesthat blow your mind, or something worth spending your 11 bucks on, gosee something else (Edge of Darkness perhaps).
Now if you want to see Travolta go nuts and be a crazy man then this isthe film for you. He is like the "good guy" version of Ryder in theTaking of Pelham 123, and although fun to watch, the film providesnothing that stands out. Action moments you want to tell people aboutdon't exist, and nothing in the script is worth remembering let alonerepeating. Travolta was a wasted asset on all accounts. The infamous"Royal with cheese" line heard in the trailer is used in the mostboring way possible, and everything after Wax's time with Frenchcustoms didn't deliver like the first few minutes did. Such a waste,Travolta really CAN deliver in a well written movie.
However what kills this film isn't the clich?d plot or bad writing, butit's complete lack of anything close to acting. Jonathan Rhys Meyers isjust BAD in this film. He's flat and uninteresting, similar to what youmight see in a SyFy monster movie. Worst acting I've seen from him todate. I spent most of the film wishing for MUCH LESS of him and moreTravolta.
So in short if a bald, cursing, drug loving, hot-head Travolta is theredeeming factor of a film then you can imagine how the rest is. Allthe parts are there, Action, Comedy, clich?d twists. Unfortunatelythese elements lack the quality or depth required to make this morethan a DVD rental.
Added: 16 February 2010
Vote: 7
John Travolta in a Die Hard type action movie
I wondered who would be the next actor to do a Bruce Willis / "DieHard" type rule. Never ever did I expect it to be John Travolta!However, thinking about it now, John Travolta did play an action rulein "The Taking of Pelham 123".
Fans of the Die Hard movies should see this one. It has the same actionand humor. Jonathan Rhys Meyers character of James Reese is a greatcomic sidekick to John Travolta's Charlie Wax. The end of the movie issequel friendly and I do hope there is a sequel.
My only minor problem is ... where did this title come from? "FromParis With Love" sounds like the title of a romance movie, not anaction thriller.
As you can probably guess, I'm looking forward to the new Bruce Willismovie "Cop Out". I just LOVE that type of movie: action with humor!
Added: 5 May 2010
Vote: 7
silly but also insulting and ludicrous
This thing doesn't work. Travolta is revolting. The script wassophomoric at best (more like freshmanic). The other guy was even lessbelievable. No chemistry. No camp fun.
The worst part of this was the attempt to introduce drama with thegirlfriend. Keep it silly throughout and you could have had a badattempt at silly, but you had to try to make us feel something - youhad to seemingly require that we stay awake. Big mistake. Slammed thedoor.
And this was a bit sickeningly American - with all the foreign folksfalling easily - and aiming very poorly with automatic weapons. Yes -out of six million bullets the one supporting actor did take one in theshoulder. Probably a ricochet.
The worst thing was that this fiasco seemed to be a lengthy set-up fora sequel. And evidently this garbage is making money. Next up -- FromMoscow with love. Can't wait.
