If ever anyone doubted the present status of Liam Neeson’s action star candidacy, he put it all to rest with Taken; it wasn’t a stellar film, but it had Liam performing incredible action sequences that proved the man still had the chops. He does, though maybe it went to his head considering he’s now in the over-the-top adaptation of The A-Team. The point being, Pierre Morel directed Neeson in Taken and proved that you’re never too old to get back on the action star saddle with a gritty film. Mel Gibson just tried it with Edge of Darkness, and From Paris with Love represents one of John Travolta’s many attempts to climb back from Battlefield Earth and regain the mojo Pulp Fiction garnered him. The fact that Pierre Morel helms this flick makes you wonder if lightning will strike twice and another actor seemingly past his action prime will find their career revitalized by Morel’s touch. It’s not a complete failure as you can’t argue with a few of the best action beats, but it doesn’t have the necessary spark to make it the memorable action flick it so desperately emulates.
James Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) lives in Paris, has blossoming political ambitions, and his ambassador employer has high hopes for him. After a minor though successful endeavor requiring Reece to prove he can think on his feet, the ambassador entrusts him with a new level of international espionage: he must escort an American agent about Paris in a mission he knows nothing about. Reece’s first encounter with his would-be partner starts as a brush with customs agents over Charlie Wax (Travolta) and a bag filled with energy drinks. It quickly establishes the expected American resentment of France but in a way that proves to be more a ploy than a genuine sympathy with the all too common anti-France sentiment that unjustifiably plagues American pop-culture, even if just as an in-joke.
From there, Reece and Wax skip about town from the busy city streets to the drug dealer-inhabited ghettos. The plot starts with Wax’s desire to get a little personal justice but spirals into encounters with drug cartels and finally to a terrorist plot. It tries to incorporate a large number of typical action film plots and uses them not to further the story but rather as excuses to fill the screen with some admittedly sharp action sequences. The action finds a decent counterbalance in the repartee between Reece and Wax who deliver some amusing dialogue and a funny running joke about Reece needing a cell phone charger so he can call back his fiancée (Kasia Smutniak).
Ultimately, From Paris with Love hinges on the success of two things: Pierre Morel’s ability to direct an action scene and the inherent comedy in a fast talking John Travolta. Morel proved himself a capable action director and when once again paired with Luc Besson (who wrote the story for this one) the combination proves to be a solid action flick experience. It’s easily entertaining, but there’s nothing to really set this one apart. The success of Travolta owes itself entirely to letting him recapture a little bit of the personality that made his character in Pulp Fiction so memorable. Meyers plays the rookie card well enough but he really isn’t intended to be an equal to Travolta until the last third.
The cinematography of the film makes the Blu-ray transfer worthwhile. Explosions, some fast moving car chases, and lots of gunplay – it’s a solid action film and it looks great in hi-def. It might not be memorable for the substance, but the flash will be enough to warrant popping it in for an evening.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Lionsgate did this release right in terms of extras. Along with a digital copy you’ll find other traditional extras like a trailer, a little trivia game, a behind the scenes featurette, and a bit of exclusive content offered via the online Lionsgate Live feature. The best extra in the set is the increasingly popular ultimate audio commentary with Pierre Morel sitting in a little Picture-in-Picture box. A tour of the International Spy Museum and a feature about the spy life round out the set. It’s an above average extra feature offering.
"From Paris with Love" is on sale June 8, 2010 and is rated R. Action, Comedy. Directed by Pierre Morel. Written by Adi Hasak (screenplay), Luc Besson (story). Starring John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kasia Smutniak.
