Just a bit behind on the review, but I thought those that have not seen the film yet might want to know. There have been quite a few comments detracting from the film, but I think many miss the pleasure this action feature presents.
From Paris With Love is hardly original. It's a bit buddy cop, a part spy thriller, with a dash of love story and politics. It won't win any awards, and likely will be forgotten long before the summer movies start coming out. But it's worth seeing in a theater.
The film is pretty straightforward. We have our ernstwhile low level CIA type who pines for work in the field while he works under the cover of an assistant to the Embassador of France. From time to time he gets called to do menial helper spy work, like changing car plates for missions he never gets to be a part of. Still our intrepid James (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) doesn't have it too bad. He has a girlfriend who wants to marry him, and he is in Paris.
If you can't figure out what will happen next, and at the end of the film you really haven't watched enough spy films. Suffice to say that Charlie (John Travolta) pops into Paris and takes James on the mission of his life.
The scenery is interesting. We get to travel around Paris, from the lower bowels to the Eiffel Tower, and much of the rest between. The photography is decent, but not outstanding. The chase scene could have been filmed better, but overall nothing to be too upset about.
The sound is likewise average. A couple of interesting musical choices throughout the film add a bit of flair and remind us that this is a film outside of the U.S. Which is something that is easy to forget surprisingly.
The acting is the key to this film. At times it keeps you interested, at other bored. The actors do a good job of conveying the fast pace everything is happening at, but without seeming to be completely out of control. Meyers does a good job of being a novice spy and a bright eager man way over his head. His characters development into a not quite hardedned operative, still clinging to his ideals and dreams of love make you root for him even as he comes to his personal climax in the film.
The down side of Meyers' James character is that he is rather boring and a bit too inept at the beginning of the film. By the end he looks more akin to the Charlie character, and emminates an aura in the final scenes of a far more expereinced operative than we would expect for a mere couple of days.
John travolta's character has his own journey. Though he is quite abrasive over the whole film, we eventually get to see a bit more of the man that probably once was just like James. The worst part of his character is really the early introductory scenes. It's too forced and put on. Even considering when his character is actively acting over the top it seem too much to be believed.
On the plus side this is not the worst film Travolta has done in recent years. It's not Pulp Fiction or Michael, but it's definitely not Wild Hogs. Once the film gets beyond the over the top scenes meant to ensure we know that Charlie is a expert killer, we get to relax a bit more and enjoy the character. There is a plan and brain in there, no matter how loose both may seem early on in the film.
Which kind of summarizes the film. It's almost 2 seperate films. And action film and a spy film. The elements of the spy film are far more interesting and better detailed. The actors as well seem or comfortable in that portion of the film's acting than the action. Blame that on the director, Luc Besson.
The film seems to copy aspects of the film Kiss of the Dragon, which Besson also directed. The pacing and style seem more of a lazy copy than a new take on a similar theme. Plus the film feels like Transporter 3, also by Besson. By that I mean that you know there is a better film in this, but it just never quite got on the scene. I think Besson either needs a vacation, or inspiration.
If you haven't seen From Paris With Love yet, it's worth the trip to the theater. Nothing else out right now is any more compelling, and films like Valentine's Day are completely one trick pony's not worth the time. A better idea is buying the DVD. This is a film that you can enjoy on a nice big screen television in your home. Plus I'm sure there were more than a few deleted scenes that will add value to owning the DVD.
This wasn't the best film for either Travolta or Myers, but it is adequate. That may not be a glowing reason to see the film, but it's not a film that deserves a better compliment.
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