Reviewed by Kate Rodger
A crime not just against cinema but all of humanity, it’s been a long, long time since a movie made me this mad.
Astonishingly, French filmmaking legend Luc Besson had a big hand in this, he wrote and produced it. Not as astonishing, is director Pierre Morel, responsible for last year’s very missable Taken, which looks like Oscar-bait compared with From Paris with Love.
With Vincent Vega now feeling like a distant memory, John Travolta (Grease /Pulp Fiction) continues his slide down the slippery slope from The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and Old Dogs, and somehow decided to sign on here.
His character is foul-mouthed smart-arse gun-toting American agent Charlie Wax (yep, wax on, wax off), who lands in Paris to take care of some bad men.
Meeting him at the airport is Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Mission Impossible 3/The Tudors), an Embassy paper-pusher with aspirations for bigger things. He gets his chance when he’s asked to partner up with Wax for 48 hours of drugs, drug dealers, hookers, fist-fights, karate-fights, gunfights and explosions. Throw in some “terrorists” and a shoulder missile-launcher, and you’ve pretty much got it.
Embellish the above with some shocking plot flaws, ludicrous story developments, obvious twists and lace heavily with racist clichés and a sinful plundering of a slice of pop culture legend, and you’ve got two hours of your life you’ll never get back.
So who’s to blame? I really don’t care, I just want to know how I can lay my hands on one of those Neuralyzer thingys from Men in Black so I can erase the film from my memory forever.
If we pretend I was just in a bad mood that day, then perhaps blokes who just want to see a mindless action film with some fighting and stuff blowing up (and I am usually very partial to both those things) might find enough here to justify their $15. There was certainly a videogame feel to the action sequences if that’s up your alley.
For the ladies, there’s a lovely pair of shoes and a catchy Parisian tune to take the edge off, but only for a moment.
A Royale with Cheese anyone? No thanks.
Half a Star (my worst Film3 rating ever).
From Paris with Love
:: Director: Pierre Morel
:: Starring: John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Amber Rose Revah, Melissa Mars, Richard Durden, Farid Elouardi
:: Running Time: 103 mins
:: Rating: R16 - violence & offensive language
:: Release Date: February 25, 2010
