ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nostalgia is on John Travolta's mind. In "From Paris with Love," he plays a violent but chatty CIA agent who, while bullets fly, likes to engage in dialogue that recalls "Pulp Fiction" as if written by action film hacks.
The Tarantino comparison (not to mention the title's James Bond allusion) only makes "From Paris with Love" appear all the more slight.
"Paris" turns drama stars into stealth, deadly spies. Alongside Travolta (Charlie Wax), Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays James Reese, an aide to the U.S. ambassador of France (Richard Durden).
But Reese is also a low-level secret agent for the CIA. He aspires to higher levels of intrigue and gets his shot when he's teamed with the veteran Wax. The two embark on a manic rampage of destruction, racking up double-digit bodies within minutes, in a desperate race to prevent terrorists from blowing up politicians.
The ceiling for a movie like this is, at best, Guy Ritchie or John Woo territory -- which is to say, quite low. But the biggest thing standing in the way of "From Paris with Love" achieving even that standard is the laughable casting.
The Irish actor Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors," "Match Point") likely has some fans somewhere, but his pasty, hollow-cheeked look has always seemed more model than actor.
Having more fun is Travolta. With a shaved head, a thick goatee, an earring and a leather coat with an upturned collar draped by a scarf, he throws himself fully into the film, but it never feels like anything more than action movie dress-up.
Nostalgia is on John Travolta's mind. In "From Paris with Love," he plays a violent but chatty CIA agent who, while bullets fly, likes to engage in dialogue that recalls "Pulp Fiction" as if written by action film hacks.
The Tarantino comparison (not to mention the title's James Bond allusion) only makes "From Paris with Love" appear all the more slight.
"Paris" turns drama stars into stealth, deadly spies. Alongside Travolta (Charlie Wax), Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays James Reese, an aide to the U.S. ambassador of France (Richard Durden).
But Reese is also a low-level secret agent for the CIA. He aspires to higher levels of intrigue and gets his shot when he's teamed with the veteran Wax. The two embark on a manic rampage of destruction, racking up double-digit bodies within minutes, in a desperate race to prevent terrorists from blowing up politicians.
The ceiling for a movie like this is, at best, Guy Ritchie or John Woo territory -- which is to say, quite low. But the biggest thing standing in the way of "From Paris with Love" achieving even that standard is the laughable casting.
The Irish actor Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors," "Match Point") likely has some fans somewhere, but his pasty, hollow-cheeked look has always seemed more model than actor.
Having more fun is Travolta. With a shaved head, a thick goatee, an earring and a leather coat with an upturned collar draped by a scarf, he throws himself fully into the film, but it never feels like anything more than action movie dress-up.
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