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From Paris with Love

Movie Grade: B

I keep going in to films thinking that they are going to be this year’s Taken; only to come out of each one disappointed. In my defense though, From Paris With Love is directed by the same man who gave us that film which was one of the most surprising February action releases ever, so my expectations weren’t completely baseless. Pierre Morel returns to the helm of another ‘shoot ‘em up’ type of film set abroad, this time in the city of Paris.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t as taken with this film as I was with his previous effort. (pun definitely intended) This is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the film because I absolutely did. It’s a fast paced, exciting thrill ride with some real nail biting moments, I just didn’t feel as enveloped by the scenario as I did with Taken. It doesn’t have me leaping out of my seat proclaiming that everyone must go see this film, but I will say it’s worth the price of admission and very few people will leave the theater feeling as though they didn’t get their money’s worth.

From Paris with Love introduces us to a loose cannon C.I.A. operative named Charlie Wax (John Travolta) who gets called in to handle the tough assignments when seemingly no one else is able to get the job done. Travolta is always at his best when he plays a badass so Wax is right up his alley. He can be powerful and threatening while maintaining that Machiavellian glimmer in his eye that keeps us laughing and guessing as to his true motivations and intent. Of course to balance his wacky and often reckless approach to things he is partnered with a low level operative who is just aching to get assigned something a little higher up the food chain. James Reece is played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers and is as straight laced as they come. He’s done well posing as the assistant to the U.S. Ambassador (Richard Durden) and carrying out several small tasks, but nothing has prepared him for what he is about to be thrown into.

As I said, the action is fantastic and the story is engaging making this movie a lot of fun to watch. It’s not the best action film ever made, but it’s not trying to be either. The best part of the film is without a doubt John Travolta‘s portrayal of Wax. This is a guy that you absolutely want to hang out with but never want to piss off. Watching him getting into and out of situations throughout the film is the most fun aspect of the film. This isn’t the type of film where everything the agents do

is Hollywood-cool. In one scene Wax tells the one henchman that he hasn’t killed to take a message to his boss, the message is “Wax on… Wax off.” Clearly he thinks it sounds cool and intimidating but the audience and his partner find it completely cheesy. Real moments like this help us to relate on a human level with these guys and definitely helps the film.

I wish I had just as many nice things to say about Jonathan Rhys Meyers because I think he’s a wonderful actor and I’ve enjoyed him in many things, but I feel like he was miscast here. Travolta was so spot-on that by comparison Rhys Meyers just seems out of place. I think an actor like James McAvoy would have fit this role brilliantly as he did in Wanted, but giving Rhys Meyers a shot wasn’t ludicrous; it just didn’t work out as well as it should have.

While this might not be as good as Taken, it is definitely the best action movie of the year so far, so if that’s your genre I think you should get out there and see it opening weekend. In fact, I already feel like seeing it again. If somehow you don’t have a blast watching it, then clearly you’re not paying attention.

Movie Grade: B

Synopsis:

In Paris, a young employee in the office of the US Ambassador hooks up with an American spy looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city.