Look, I wasn't expecting much here. I wasn't expecting to think, to feel, to experience something "cinematic" that would warrant a review. I just wanted to be entertained. 6.5 rating, aging Travolta, Besson's name attached...how bad could it be?And it's watchable...for a while. Travolta cusses, fusses, and murders his way through a loosely plotted first half. (The other guy is functionally useless except as a rare barometer of sanity when he whines about all their rampaging and carnage.) The action scenes are so goofy they could almost be parody. With some fun plot twists and maybe a bit of courage (not to be a xenophobic, sexist sewage-clogger), this could have gone somewhere satisfying. But the last act completely ruins it, turning it into the kind of film thugs would watch to get pumped up before going out and committing hate crimes.In actuality, your average American action film viewer in the era of Trump will find this enjoyable. Hence the 6.5 rating. That's the saddest part of all.

Look ...I get that there's a chadre' of folk out yonder that is fixing to de-bone n pluck anything that uses an A list person to sell tickets . However ....in this case I say don't take yourself to seriously . The movie doesn't , didn't and rightly so . The direction on this film is where the real work occurred . If you read the script prior to watching it you will get my drift as it can easily be interpreted as a cross between 48 hours, The Bourne Identity and end Up being a worse version of MI-2 . Why because the director has the daunting task of defining the movie as either one in which there is genuine serious continuity throughout or the studio - pleasing , screenwriter -pleasing muddled bi-polar typical "diehard" confused identity toned flick that ultimately leaves the outcome in the wrong hands ...that of the final editors who butcher it as if it were an unfinished Giacometti that needed to be slimmed down due to fat content . Arrrg. Pierre Morel ends up saving this thrown together script and saving the day . What was written to be a smart double-back gotcha -espionage thriller on a serious level .....but with razor sharp humorous dialogue that is supposed to bleed off the tension and get you to the next body count .....would have fallen flat had Pierre not decided to put the entire tone of the movie in check and let you not take any part seriously ,from the ridiculous cocaine sanding Down in the Chinese restaurant to the absurd marksmanship & martial arts of the protagonist .So when we realize as Mr Travola enters in the airport scene ....that the movie will be the lightest and funniest mass murder movie you may ever see, you settle in for some good old fun ....there was no expectation of reality in the action and therefore as it played we logically have low expectations of any plot ? .....the interim humor and well crafted action were plausible laughable satires of Hollywood's predictable ridiculous action flick scenes and with that in mind the plot snuck up and delivered despite itself ! ... in the end it all came together . Had it been a serious spy movie -a-5 ...but it was a gut punching laugh it up joyride from A to Z that I watched 3 times and loved every time ! Great patch job Pierre !-8+

From Paris With Love (2010): Dir: Pierre Morel / Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, John Travolta, Kasia Smutniak, Richard Durden, Amber Rose Revah: Amusing action comedy with an ear for dialogue. Title is a parody of the 007 action film From Russia With Love, but it also mocks the romantic images of Paris through its violence. Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays an aide to the U.S. Ambassador in France but longs to become an agent. He gets his wish when he is paired with John Travolta to stop a terrorist attack. Film starts off great until action and violence become too constant. The ending works thanks to director Pierre Morel who capitalizes on dialogue and action as a mixture. He previously directed the similar action thriller Taken. Meyers is superb as someone going from a low risk position to becoming a target. Travolta steals the film with humorous dialogue and a blunt but intelligent knack for the job. What works here is whether or not Meyers can trust Travolta and his reactions to his methods. Kasia Smutniak plays Meyers' French girlfriend who factors in. She is a key player without being reduced to a romantic prop. Richard Durden as the Ambassador is unfortunately flat in what is cliché and a weak element in the film. Other roles aren't exactly flying off the screen either leaving the leads to elevate the film higher than perhaps it deserves. The action, stunts and production are top notch despite the fact that the screenplay isn't quite as intelligent as it could be. Action fans will likely accept this film with love while others may vacation elsewhere to broader entertainment. Score: 6 ½ / 10

Yeah this was pretty terrible, I fell asleep watching it and then couldn't be bothered to go back and finish it because I' d seen it all before and just didn't care. A semi entertaining move dubbed as "an explosive thriller" that follows a desk-bound CIA agent (Jonathan Rhys Myers), who is suddenly given a big-time assignment by the agency and must team up with lone wolf (John Travolta) to stop a terrorist bombing.Filled with non-stop (but unremarkable) action scenes Travolta is Mr. tough cool guy and I hated his character -granted he does a decent enough job but I kept thinking Jason Statham would have been great in this role. And while I'm a fan of JRM this is probably the worst acting job I have seen from him, a wishy-washy character with a bad American accent. I honestly didn't "get" that he was an intelligence officer either until I read the synopsis, his position was never really explained. 7/1/14