From Paris with Love

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!

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.

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.

Pierre Morel & Luc Besson delivered one of the best action films of the last decade, Taken. Even people who typically despise the action genre were won over by it. So where do Pierre & Besson head from here? They made the move to appeal solely to the action fan base. From Paris With Love is made for genre fans, not your average movie-goer. The first 20 minutes are spent with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and it feels a little slow. Once John Travolta's character comes into the story the film takes off like a roller-coaster. His charisma gives the film an extra kick and it gives much of the action a new flavor. Once the fun starts it doesn't stop. Whenever you think this film is slowing down it's really getting ready for the next shootout. You're on the edge of your seat until the very end. Actually, one of my two complaints is the end (I won't spoil anything). Let's just say the last 5 minutes feel a little rushed. If you loved going to the theater to see Live Free Or Die Hard, Rambo, & Taken than this is for you.

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?