From Paris With Love (2010) Review:

Action fluff pieces are workable projects. They may not always produce a large volume of devoted followers, but they do have their own set of admirers. For actor John Travolta, who has had his fair share of ups and downs, he has also shown to be a versatile performer. Playing in musicals, drama, science-fiction and action films, Travolta has been all around. But like many other actors, Travolta has also chosen certain roles that don't seem either plausible or just a good match. This film however seems to disprove that to some degree. Produced by a team of people who have worked with John Travolta and Luc Besson's wife to boot, this film is an odd mix of comedy and action set in the spy genre. The thing is, even with that said, it's still a mindless shoot 'em up.

"Do I look like I belong here?"

Written by Adi Hasak, who hadn't penned a script since Shadow Conspiracy (1997), surprisingly was able to create a story not too derivative for such a long hiatus. The plot involves James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) a fresh employee to the US Ambassador of France, seeking to ramp up his profession. He recently gets engaged to his fiancé Caroline (Kasia Smutniak) only to be assigned on a top notch job that may change his life for good. The job is stopping a suspected terror plan to happen at a summit and the only person who can help is a man named Charlie Wax (John Travolta). Wax who's from the United States, follows no rules and is quite unreasonable, yet makes the time to snort coke and enjoy occasional fornication. Sounds like a really nice guy to work with.

For what it's worth, the whole concept behind the story is absolutely ludicrous. Why on earth would the US Government hire someone like Travolta's character to do jobs like this? Viewers are not let in on Charlie Wax's background so there's really no understanding as to how he got the way he is. Sure, films like xXx (2002) is about as equally silly, but, viewers knew where the character was coming from. Whether it be Darius Stone or Xander Cage. Where is Charlie Wax from, profession wise? Why is his name Wax, because of his head? The same could actually be said for Johnathan Rhys Meyers' character too. In the run time, certain pieces of information are revealed that will have the viewer asking, "Why hasn't he learned this yet"? Some of these instances involve very simple things, which seem so obvious when seen in hindsight.

While these are critical aspects to the character depth, the rest of the feature works okay. While Charlie Wax and James Reese are nowhere near being a great match or a memorable action duo, they do have some chemistry on screen. James Reese does receive character development while on the job with Wax. That and the dialog exchanged between the two can be funny at times seeing that Wax is serious but takes it easy doing his work. While Reese is more uptight and unsure of how to do what Wax does. The action also entertains. Being that it's rated R, blood is readily available to flow, but really it's just Wax and his foul mouth. Some of the more energetic scenes though involve gunfights, hand-to-hand combat and various other loud weapons.

Caroline

With director Pierre Morel heading this feature, it's understandable why the action is suitable. He was the one who directed Taken (2008) which was heavily praised for that reason. For visuals the cinematography was not that engaging. Michel Abramowicz who also worked on Taken (2008) and would also film for The Thing (2011) didn't provide a whole lot to look at. Most of the terrain is urban and in cramped quarters. Not a whole lot is seen. Music on the other hand was adequate. Composed by David Buckley, the score incorporates a blend of synths, guitar and percussion for most cues. Though sometimes a trumpet or piano is highlighted for softer moments. While it's not the most memorable score, it is certainly better than his score from Parker (2013).

An action film that's more fluff than anything else, John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers can be interesting leads, but the writing behind their characters are underdeveloped. Even with uninspired cinematography though, the action sequences are fun, the chemistry between the leads work and the music is sufficiently engaging.

Points Earned --> 6:10