Customer Reviews

From Paris with Love

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

From Paris With Love was an entertaining ride, with plenty of "edge of your seat" moments, humor, and lots of action. The plot kept twisting and turning, bringing one surprise after the other, which made it really interesting. Travolta was dynamic, fun and believable as a seemingly crazy but very able operative/spy. Jonathan Rhys Meyers was excellent in the role of the newbie operative who was fairly innocent and very inexperienced, but still smart. It was a far cry from the authority and power he exudes as King Henry in the Tudors series, which means to me that he's a capable actor.

There were short periods when the movie seemed to lag a bit, though once things got going, the exciting parts more than made up for anything less than exciting. There was a lot of killing going on with plenty of blood, but despite this, none of it was very graphic or terribly disturbing. Regardless, this is not a movie I'd bring the kids to. It's definitely an adult flick for a mature audience.

I'd recommend this movie for those who enjoy action or spy thrillers. I think it would even be a DVD worth owning.

I confess right here, right now that I loved "From Paris With Love"! John Travolta is the reason why!

For the sake of simplicity, here are my reasons:
1. After the initial, necessarily slow set-up to establish back story with Jonathan Rhys Meyers' character, the action is non-stop!
2. John Travolta! He plays a commando-type sent on secret mission assignments and allowed to act without protocol! He is the reason for the action.
3. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the spy wannabe, the complete opposite to Travolta--refined, debonair, rule follower, diplomatic assistant.
4. Weapons in cans!
5. Fighting scenes! In fact, these scenes remind me of Matt Damon's films. There's a big difference though: Matt Damon's fights are carefully choreographed with the entire fight (seemingly) shown, whereas Travolta's are shown in snippets. Why? Because John Travolta is too old and over-sized to actually fight. Note: These snippets are in my plus column. Even though he is not actually fighting, the illusion is there (for those who want to see fight scenes) that this old guy is really capable of defeating so many opponents.
6. Bad guys (drug dealers, pimps, and terrorists) are no match for Travolta's character at any time! Hero played Large! (Hero from my point of view as American, potential-victim-of-terrorism, along with delegations from all over the world)
7. The unsuspected terrorist agent!
8. Watching the diplomatic assistant gradually become spy worthy.
10. An action-oriented Big Play Hero who also plays chess!

What I didn't like about the movie:
1.

What a great summer movie, exactly one kind of summer hits: fun, engaging, entertaining, action-filled (nonstop), heroic-but-unconventional characters, violence so unbelievable that the viewer knows it is not real but pretends it is for this movie, and satisfying ending. (Oh, the other kind? Romantic and tame!)

FROM PARIS WITH LOVE is not without merit because it does have the gift of a great performance by John Travolta who can play Edna in HAIRSPRAY and turn around and play bad mouthed, gonna put a hole in ya' Charlie Wax in FROM PARIS WITH LOVE. It also has constant action, and if you like that sort of thing then you'll be rewarded with a movie that holds your interest.

Yet, when its over, you won't need to watch it again, because it isn't that kind of movie. You can't help but think throughout the movie, that some scenes were missing. Either that or Luc Besson scraped the typical plot of most action movies and decided to focus his screenplay on a subplot.

While the movie is about stopping terrorism, most of the movie is about the relationship between Charlie Wax (Travolta) & James Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) & whether or not Reece has it in him to kill. Also, most of the movie is taken up by chasing down a drug ring. Eventually, toward the end of the movie, we discover the true reason why we're watching. A terrorist target.

The movie is 90 minutes of mayhem, bullets and Travolta putting holes in people or just finding creative ways to send people to the hereafter. If you're looking for a story, it is vague and you can't help but wander that Luc Besson intended that. Yet, because of that, it's a movie that is and will be easily forgotten.

Travolta MAKES this movie work as an absolute WILD RIDE & I LOVED IT!! Too many spy thrillers and even action flicks get so hung up on "the story" nowadays that you end up missing out on most of the FUN and just going, "Huh???" in the end (e.g. the first Mission Impossible). But don't worry...Except for an anemic first 15 minutes that seemed like it would never end, this movie doesn't simply stop periodically and try and TELL a story. Instead, the convoluted - but interesting - story DEVELOPS as the movie just shifts into high-gear and keeps moving at break-neck speed with jaw-dropping action alternating with over-the-top humor! It works so well because Travolta plays an off-the-chain near super hero spy with Jonathan Rhys Meyers playing the "straight guy" who also happens to be the wannabe super spy. And become a super spy he does - on Travolta's Fast Track Plan!!

There's bodies piling up by the dozens wherever these guys go, a car chase that rivals anything you've ever seen in The Transporter series and gunfights/explosions galore. The tongue-in-cheek humor prevalent throughout the film shows that it never takes itself too seriously. For example, in one scene, Travolta tells his partner to stay a floor down while he goes up a spiral staircase after the bad guys. Every few seconds you hear a couple of muffled silencer shots and the bad guys literally start falling from the sky! Just brilliant and hilarious film-making!! Now, don't laugh too hard...But From Paris With Love reminds me quite a bit of Live Free or Die Hard. There are more than a few similarities: super hero-type playing off an inexperienced newbie; a bald Travolta and a bald Bruce Willis; both duos hunt down terrorists; special effects that look both real and unreal at the same time. But unlike Willis and his ever-present bloody shirt, Travolta's character never gets a scratch. I'm also impressed that he did so many of the stunts in this flick and didn't end up in the hospital! He moves around pretty well for a guy his age...

There's a Special Feature on the DVD where former real spies claim there really are Special Ops guys like Travolta's character in the real world! Too bad there isn't a reality show that follows them around...In fact, this is EXACTLY the kind of movie I wish someone would turn into a weekly TV series! I'd watch it every week...

"From Paris with Love" with J.T and J.R.M. is fantastically sophisticated for a fictional spy movie. Finally, a fun, funny, flamboyant and fictionally factual movie where the terrorist bad guys aren't white but the heroes and the white girl (played by Kasia Smutniak) isn't rescued but is a liberal sympathizer for...Islamic terrorists. Oops exposed a plot twist. Now; the only reason I wrote the ethnic thing is because I've read a lot of comments from people who found the movie offensive, down talked it, and gave it one star was because they didn't like that non-white ethnicity were being presented as the bad guys (except for the confused French girl) and getting killed...plus the white male American Ambassador wasn't somehow corrupt and evil while the white female political American dignitary was portrayed as being stupid and arrogant. Boo-hoo. A lot of us are getting tired of Hollywood's typical politically correct social engineering game in movies and not trying to offend anyone except the usual suspects in the current terrorist environment. "From Paris with Love" is a fresh change of pace in contemporary Spy movie making ~ distinct as the "Bourne Identity" series (of which I really enjoyed even though that 3 movie series was far fetch fun fiction). I can't wait for the next installment..."From Bahrain with...

I also really liked watching Spies, Spooks and Special Ops: Life Under Cover in the Special Features of this DVD and listening to former CIA agents speak about their personal experiences and the realities of the Spy war and how dangerous the current counter Islamic terrorism fight is. And just because Bin Laden is dead...thank God, doesn't mean its over and mission complete.

Oh and by the way, there is no logical argument in Islamophobic or Islamophobia just like there is no logical argument for atheists to be Godophobic or have a Godphobia...or is there.

This is one of the best movies I have watched with John Travolta in it in awhile. The action was off the chain and the comedy was just all out funny. I laughed my butt off. This was a great experience. A must Buy.

John Travolta is one of the most diverse actors that we have available to us. His performance in this particular film was portrayed with guts, savvy, kill the "bad guys"...take no prisoners and his skills with his hands and guns was so entertaining and how he kept the movie going at an excellent pace and his presence was larger than life.
Jon-Rhys as "Reece" did an outstanding portrayal of a "wannabe" and then when he "got to be" was terrified, frustrated and constantly kept on his toes and was always playing the innocent, puzzled, confused and so vulnerable to his love for Carolene.
Towards the end of all of the action he finally took on the role of who he evolved into and accepted the fact that he actually could face the fact that he was manipulated and took the stand of let's get this horrific ordeal under control and take the bad guys out of the picture.
I was touched, moved and thoroughly entertained. John segued into so many sides of a complex character and yet also showed us a soft vulnerable side to his character as Charlie Wax. I was so "touched" when he took out the pictures of Carolene and handed them to "Reece" in such an understanding show of affection of what love can do to us and yet keep a small part to remember the tenderness that he still could feel no matter what else came out about Carolene's character.

Brilliant film by French producers and directors and the ongoing constant motion and movement and "take no prisoners" action. Refreshing and forward movement at every turn.

Another "A" film on my list.

The last airplane movie that I reviewed was so grottenschlecht (cave dwelling bad) that from now on everything is bright.
After Cruise's Knight and Day, this Travolta vehicle is fun and exciting (well maybe not quite that, but it is funny and not that badly made).
Whatever. Only after going as low as possible will you be able to appreciate the fun to be had from this one: Travolta is an American version of the James Bond profession, i.e. with all licenses in the world, and somewhat worse manners. His enemies are not cold warriors or wannabe world rulers, but drug dealers, flesh brokers, money launderers and terrorists. The place of action is Paris, where Travolta flies in, aquires technical assistance from a junior US embassy assistant with Bond-ambitions, starts killing thirdworlders from China and Pakistan and other terrible places in the process of catching gangsters of all denominations plus devoted Islamic suicide bombers. We find out the good young man in the duo is the target of a specially mean deception: his lovely fiancee, a cross between Keyra Knightly and Nathalie Portman, lookswise, turns out to be a bomber who targets a US/African aid summit.
If this info is a spoiler, you don't deserve better. Everybody in his right mind knows it from the first minute when the girl annoys you with her permanent giggling. A girl who giggles like that must be a suicide bomber.
Some reviews have compared this film with Liam Neeson's Taken. I differ. Taken is an ideological stinker on the level of Death Wish. In comparison, this one here is good old Bondish action entertainment. Well, somewhat downgraded for American standards of behavior.

I am going to keep this short and simple:

I went it not wanting to like this movie....by the I was done I was very pleased with the amount of fun and simplicity the movie allows itself to take. If they greenlight a sequel I will be there on opening night.

This was a good action movie the story line was a little weak but intertaining to watch