Movie Review: From Paris with Love

John Travolta is one of the best actors of his generation, ranging his talents from musicals to action flicks, from comedy to drama. Jonathan Rhys Meyers has been in next to nothing, most commonly known for his portrayal of Henry VIII on The Tudors and appearing in August Rush. From Paris with Love pairs these actors as two agents, one a rookie and the other a hardened assassin who usually goes beyond protocol to get the job done. As much as this setup sounds original, it unfortunately makes for a forgettable film.

To say the movie is about stopping terrorists in Paris from striking at the US Embassy would strangely be a strong simplification of what From Paris with Love tries to be. The first 30 minutes of the film are loosely strung up events that hardly elude to the terrorist plot, so when Travolta reveals why he is in Paris, it feels like a muted twist. All the marketing for the movie refers to some type of suicide bomber, but the amount of time spent running around with a vase filled with drugs just seems to confuse the story.

The action in the movie is nothing too impressive, and considering the story was written by the director of The Transporter series and directed by Taken‘s Pierre Morel, it’s standard with those films. Throwing in some twists with the characters and story fails to elevate the movie above what has become a mostly generic cookie-cutter action flick. Had they not stuck the terrorism plot in the middle of the movie, From Paris with Love would have flowed better. Despite Travolta carrying the film, it fails to extend beyond a weak action flick.

Fanboyz Grade: C-