Sometimes you never know what elements of a film will inform the review. My enjoyment of From Paris With Love is almost in spite of its contents, in which John Travolta, who looks more like an outlaw biker than a CIA operative, schools a type-A neophyte spy played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. The violence is indiscriminate, the morality is non-existent and Travolta’s character is so outrageously hair-triggered that it is possible that he received in-service training from the protagonists of both Bad Lieutenant movies. However, the action is expertly directed (by Pierre Morel) and never boring. If From Paris warrants a recommendation, it’s to look past the film’s flaws and you’ll find a good time at the movies.
This article appears in Feb 4-10, 2010.
