Review: From Paris With Love

Grade: B

In Paris, a young employee in the office of the US Ambassador, James Reece, wishes for more excitement than his current side job as a low-level CIA operative, doing things like switching license plates for other CIA agents and other small tasks. One day he gets a call from his boss offering him a shot at his dream job of being a bona fide CIA operative, all he has to do is pick up his partner, Charlie Wax, from the airport and drive him around. He is excited until he meets Charlie, who is a loud, wisecracking, trigger-happy, loose cannon who has been sent to Paris to stop a terrorist attack. Charlie then sends James on the ride of a lifetime that has James wishing for his desk job back. But when James discovers that he is a potential target somehow, he realizes Wax is his best chance at staying alive and solving the mystery.

The movie starts out a little slow but as soon as Charlie Wax shows up, it picks up right away and becomes a really fun movie. From Paris is loaded with laughs and excitement as we watch Wax take some very unorthodox ways at tracking down the terrorist cell. Often he doesn't even let James know what is going on. The action in this movie is rather intense at times and is pretty fun to watch. The jokes throughout are pretty funny for the most part, really everything that Travolta says is pretty entertaining, they did, unfortunately, decide to make a Pulp Fiction joke/reference with Travolta's character about a royale with cheese, made me cringe a little. The movie wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be but it was pretty fun nonetheless.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Mission Impossible 3, TV's The Tudors) plays the role of James Reece, an American seemingly living the good life in Paris. I can't tell if it was the character/writing or if it really was his acting but he seemed stiff at times. I do feel that he was entertaining through most of the movie though and I do like him as an actor. John Travolta (Hairspray, Be Cool) plays the role of Charlie Wax, a high energy, slightly insane, it seems, CIA operative. Travolta completely stole the movie. His character had all the best lines and did most of the action. Travolta was highly entertaining in this movie and really is what made it worth seeing.

The movie is a fun, vulgar and bloody ride that is rather enjoyable to watch. If you like action movies and/or if you like John Travolta, see this movie, highly entertaining. Just keep in mind that the first 10-15 minutes is pretty slow and uninteresting, but is of course setting up the story.

Great quote: "Next time I tell you to shoot the f***er, shoot the f***er."