As an action movie, it’s visually entertaining because it engrosses you its various sequences. There are riveting car chases, fist fights, shootouts, and explosions that place you as the viewer in the thick of the commotion. Pacing throughout these scenes stays quick to establish the frantic mindset. Morel’s ability to direct an exciting display as he did with “District B13” and “Taken” comes through in “From Paris with Love” as well, but his leadership is completely overshadowed by the horrendously written story and dialogue.
James Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a lackey for the American government doing low-level spy work under the guise of working for the American ambassador in Paris. Weary of the grunt work, Reece hopes his loyalty will soon be rewarded with a transfer to special ops missions. Reece receives the opportunity to prove himself worthy, when assigned to escort the renegade agent Charlie Wax (John Travolta) during his stay in Paris.
Much to Reece’s dismay, Wax is a real handful. Wax enthusiastically says the word “motherf—er” when it’s completely inappropriate and he’d rather shoot the bad guys first and ask questions later. Guided on orders he neglects to fill Reece in on, he drags the fresh-faced spy on foray through Paris that leaves behind a trail of bodies.
The film establishes that the two are out to thwart a terrorist plot, by people of Middle Eastern descent, however the motivations and goals of the plot are never explained or given much screen time. Since the story does not introduce any specific elements to engage the audience, it largely feels immaterial. Uninteresting plot combined with poorly written dialog is this movie’s ultimate downfall. In some instances the dialog is so ludicrous that you find yourself audibly laughing at it, like a stupidly placed nod to Travolta’s role in Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction.”
John Travolta is arguably the best part of the picture, as the badass Charlie Wax. Sporting an unusual look with a shaved head and goatee, the aging actor still holds his own during the action sequences. The personality he brings to his role is entertaining, but it is not enough to boost Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ flat performance. Meyers’ character comes off stiff as a board, calling even further attention to his already bad lines.
While I certainly was not expecting Academy Award winning material from this film, I was expecting an action movie with more personality and pulse that would absorb me more than this one did.
My Grade: C-