JIM reviews film "FROM PARIS WITH LOVE"

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From Paris With Love

MY Rating: 8.5 of 10 stars (based on an advance preview of the 92-minute film being released 2-5-10).

A twisted mini “BOURNE Connivery” with HUMOR!…

… With all the real-life BUMBLING that’s been going on recently with the Department of Homeland Security & the like, there may be some elements of this film that’ll come across as somewhat HARD-to-believe or “accept”… In any case:

… John Travolta is an FBI agent named Charlie Wax who’s been sent to Paris, France, to try to halt a reported assault being planned by radicals. (Shouldn’t it be a CIA person who’s there, since it’s in a country other than the U.S.?! Oh well— facts aren’t “big” with our recent governments…). John is high-ranking, and a shoot-from-the-LIP type who likes doing things “HIS” way, conventions be damned…

… The U.S. Ambassador named Bennington (Richard Durden) mainly deals in diplomatic & social issues on an everyday basis. But, also in the Embassy are some Intelligence Officers, including a low-level operative named James Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who plays chess with Bennington & reluctantly becomes John’s PARTNER in his investigation work…

… Biker-looking Travolta (both bearded & bald) is so inherently insulting & boorish to those around him, Rhys is almost constantly in a state of trauma at trying to find ways to “extricate” them from his frequent faux pas. Even more of a shock is the way Travolta is often a non-stop KILLING machine, mowing down drug dealers & their henchman (often on what seem like “hunches”) as they set about trying to uncover and stop a possible TERRORIST plot…

… The movie rumbles thru one impressive ACTION-packed episode after another, led by Travolta with Rhys “tagging along” & trying to be “useful”… Rhys keeps being called by his girlfriend Caroline (Kasia Smutniak), who knows in GENERAL what he does, but who’s told he can’t discuss “details” of what’s going on incident-by-incident…

… Travolta’s breezy dialogue and attitude is often quite FUNNY, & Rhys does well as the “follower” guy who’s both amazed & “learning” as they go around Paris… There are, naturally, a bunch of “BAD” guys, from ones in a Chinese restaurant, to Arabic drug dealers & conspirators such as Le barbu — The Bearded man – (played by Farid Elouardi), Rasheed (Chems Dahmani), etc…

… It turns out there’s a sort of “DOUBLE-agent” involved in everything. I personally got that feeling early in the film, & correctly guessed WHO it was & a “device” connection between them & one of the principal stars— but it may come as a SURPRISE to most of the viewers…

… Will the main Americans eventually find the LEADERS of the trouble-making groups?… Will they be able to PREVENT whatever plot is being planned, &, if so, HOW will it be done?…

… The film turned out to have a bunch of “snappy” patter & actions from Travolta (who does a fine job), some typically fine CAR CHASE scenes by very talented drivers, loads of energetic combat, & the film was a surprisingly jolting bundle of FUN overall (tho I wish it was longer!)…

… It might be a good idea to start considering a SEQUEL for the 2 male leads, since the characters are memorable & Travolta & Rhys play well off each other (tho Rhys’ super-thin mustache & quasi-goatee look a bit “dippy”, & should be “fixed” for heightened future believability as an “agent”)…