From Paris with Love

Would I watch this movie again? Yes I was not sure what to expect from this movie. But, I decided to watch it. And long and behold, its one which you should not miss if you are into guy movies like me. Lots of action, good lines, fast pace and a bit of a story. What else can a guy ask for? More hot chick scene? Action: Travolta has all the moves and faster then all the bullets which blast by him. He kicks butt and then some.

Speech and dialogue: There were one liners, yes. But the fast talking Travolta was entertaining and was very complimentary with his co-stars Chemistry and pace: The characters were good with each other. Meyers and wife was good. Made me believe. The action and fast talking move the movie along. From building to building, it was good to have different locations to kill bad guys.

Story and Plot: Its all there in the synopsis, where a guy wants more action and he got it.

Hotties and love scenes: just one simple scene

Ending: Ending is good as I feel like it completed the movie. No real loose ends. (I hate movies where the ending leaves you dissatisfied)

It's John Travolta like you have never seen him before. Here he is Mister Action, the ultimate Tough Guy, the new Bruce Willis but with more flair. The story itself is not particularly noteworthy. But there is lots of action as Travolta shows everyone who's boss in this action-packed special effects extravaganza. Also there is non-stop violence with Mr. Travolta leading the way. If you like movies with stories that feature nonstop violence, then this movie is for you. If you like John Travolta, this movie is for you. But in terms of the story, don't expect too much from this movie. Remember: it's a commercial product so at some point artistic merit inevitably gives way to the usual dose of special effects that Hollywood spews out like clockwork. Hooray for John Travolta and Hollywood!

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.

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.

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?