From Paris with Love

From Paris with Love

Director: Pierre Morel
Stars: John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Classification: 14A
Rating: **

From Paris with Love sees action guru Luc Besson (Leon: The Professional) reunite with Pierre Morel in an attempt to repeat the surprise success that they had with last year’s Taken.

This time the producer/director team have embraced a lighter tone by pairing two Johns (Travolta and Rhys Meyers) in an action buddy comedy set in Paris.

On paper the film sounds like it could be a fun explosion and one-liner packed romp, but sadly it doesn’t live up to those expectations. There’s a resounding sense that we’ve seen it all before and the two lead actors are miscast.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays an uptight go-getter trying to worm his way into the CIA who is assigned to escorting John Travolta’s experienced special agent through a bullet-filled trip to Paris.

Rhys Meyers insists on doing everything by the book, but Travolta just can’t play by the rules.

Sound familiar? It is. The only difference is that in this rendition of the well-worn tale, Travolta seems to be playing a gangsta complete with a shaved head, bling, and slang that the actor and writers don’t seem to understand.

From the moment Travolta first appears on screen arguing with airport officials about brining energy drinks into France (the man needs to stay pumped), it’s clear that the actor is out of his element.

He’s awkwardly playing a role written for someone else. The same is true of Rhys-Meyers who is far too talented to be playing a straight-laced puppy following Travolta’s wild man lead.

The action is fast, furious, and entertaining, but without characters worth caring about it amounts to little more than loud noises.

There is fun to be had watching all the big budget shenanigans, but it can be hard to sit through the tired “snappy” dialogue scenes between the shootouts.

The movie is a mess. It’s an entertaining mess that admittedly some might enjoy as braindead fun, but one that will be quickly forgotten.