From Paris with Love

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.

It always amazes me how critics like to destroy with articulate words movies. All I know is it is worth spending the money to go see. Male,female,teens to adults will like. It is action packed with a Bruce Willis type of humor while at the same time surely enjoyable to keep your attention. You will leave there saying, that was really good and worth spending the money. Like the plot very much, even though critics are tearing it down. It is stimulating, exciting,full of action with a twisting plot that you will find most interesting and fulfilling. Is it for little kids, too much guns and shooting. Even though it is action packed with lots of shooting action, it is not a gross bloody movie.I repeat you will leave there saying I am glad I went to see that movie. Have fun that is why we go to the movies and spend our money to enjoy ourselves.

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.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers works for the American Embassy in Paris and is used to performing small surveillance/spying jobs. Yet he yearns to be a member of the big league: what is referred to as 'The Club' – a buzzword for elite government agents. He gets his chance when he has to go to the airport to collect a loud, foul-mouthed colleague – John Travolta in a totally unhinged performance – who's arrived in town on a drugs bust, but later uncovers a terrorist plot. Cue: lots of witty banter, beatings and shootings galore as a reluctant Rhys Meyer's gets in over his head with his apparently unstable partner.

As you can tell from the above short outline, if you're watching this thinking you're in for a soppy love story, you'd better brace yourself for the truth: this is a violent, foul-mouthed, headache inducing shoot 'em up. It's a simple action story where – stop me if you haven't heard this before – two mismatched agents argue and bitch the entire time while spouting witty dialog at each other. But don't let that put you off: this is a deliriously entertaining buddy movie in the mold of Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout and a host of others, but with an added European flavor which serves to make it stand out from the crowd.

For a flashy, big budget movie, it's refreshingly old school. There's no dizzy 3D on display and whatever CG is present is so subtle as to be almost undetectable. In fact this movie could have been made in the late 80s/early 90s. What we get in their place is a movie that relies on the characters talking to each other rather than relying on big effects. This is like a breath of fresh air. Travolta and Rhys Meyers work really well together and are believable as the two mismatched agents: one a nervy and green rookie with no experience, the other a seasoned pro that tends to shoot first and then ask his questions. The script is very witty and there's lots of entertaining back and forth banter between the two of them.

Travolta is his typically over-the-top self in the movie - but in a good way. At times he's laugh-out-loud hilarious and puts in an energetic comedic performance. He's seems to relish the outrageous situations and the witty dialog. He runs through his familiar back catalog of high pitched 'Yeahs' and whoops and an assortment of swear words that wouldn't have been out of place in Pulp Fiction. In fact the aforementioned movie is even referenced in a throwaway line where he mentions that his favorite food is a 'Royale with cheese'. You know that an actor's recent output hasn't been of the highest quality when he has to remind us of former glories not just once, but twice: did he really think we didn't catch it the first time? Rhys Meyers is good as his straight faced, though bewildered sidekick and underplays his role to good effect. Admittedly, he has no other choice since he's playing to such a powerhouse role as Travolta's. It's clearly Travolta's show and he loves every minute of it. And why wouldn't he? This gives him the chance to play one of his most colorful characters in years.

There are lots of really good classic scenes in this movie, perhaps too many to mention: the airport interrogation room, a scene set in a Chinese restaurant and an encounter with street punks, to name just a few. The movie is brimming with entertaining moments and moves along at a breathless pace, effortlessly sweeping us in with it. So much so, in fact, that we fail to notice how… slightly… confusing… it… is… It's fair to say that this movie doesn't have your standard A-B-C plotting. Story-wise, it is - as they say - all over the shop. Still, when you're having this much fun that doesn't really matter.

It's a shame they couldn't have come up with a better title for the movie because the one they chose doesn't do it justice. While it works in the context of its Parisian setting, it may put people off. The unacquainted could unwittingly pass it up, thinking it's something else entirely. And that would be a shame because this is a highly entertaining and re-watchable gem of a movie with rapid-fire dialog and lots of preposterous situations thrown in for good measure. It's also got its share of surprises and twists. If you like witty buddy cop movies, then go out and see this, if for nothing else, then just to see Travolta back on top of his game in loud, dynamic form.