Written by Alejandro Riera | 04 February 2010

Back in the days of the theatrical double bill, a film like “From Paris with Love” would have fit comfortably well alongside a major A-list title. It is the kind of wordless, witless, mind-numbing entertainment that served as the appetizer to the main event. Although, quite frankly, back in the day these titles could be shot, acted and edited with the same efficiency and professionalism as the A-titles and, in fact, some of them have become veritable movie classics.

Today, these B and C-titles are granted A status by the studios and distributors with hefty multimillion dollar budgets and recognizable stars. Yet, they are still fillers, movies dropped on megaplexes everywhere during the slow, dead months of January, February and August, guaranteeing theater owners a steady stream of titles while the studios get ready to launch their next blockbusters.

In that regards, “From Paris with Love” accomplishes its mission of offering an hour and a half of mindless fun. But, and this is a blockbuster-sized but, when compared to a similar B-title film like last year’s “Taken,” it lacks a certain elan, a sense of kickass fun. And I bring “Taken” into the discussion because both films were directed by the same man: Pierre Morel. But, I’ve seen “Taken” more than once and I would see it again and again and again. I don’t expect to revisit “From Paris with Love” anytime son.

While “Taken” was focused and simple (former government operative flies to Paris to rescue his daughter from sex traffickers), the plot of “From Paris with Love” is all over the place. In fact, when you think about it, even for a fraction of a second, you realize not only that the plot makes absolutely no sense but that it depends too much on coincidence. It’s slapped together willy-nilly. You feel as if you are watching the first draft of a promising action film and not the final shooting script.

James Reece (Jonathan Rhys-Myers) is an assistant at the American Embassy in Paris, who has a side gig as a CIA go-to boy. He wants to move up in the world and become a bona fide spy. He gets his chance when he’s called upon to pick up a secret operative who is having some problems with Customs at the airport: one-man killing machine Charlie Wax (John Travolta). It doesn’t take long for the trigger-happy Wax to be shooting his way across Paris, chasing after the men who sold the Secretary of Defense’s niece some deadly cocaine. Before long, Reece finds himself holding a vase full of cocaine, learning to shoot his way out of a residential project and fending calls from his girlfriend who wants to know where he is and why he is so late for dinner.

Before long, and without any explanation, Wax and Reece start chasing after Pakistani terrorists who may be connected to the drug dealers. Hell, they may actually be drug dealers as well, I could never quite tell. In the end, the plot behind the plot behind the plot would have been handled better by the extraordinary British spy series “MI-5” (now in its eighth season and a must-see).

Travolta is undoubtedly having a blast and is the only thing worth recommending about this hodge-podge. Yet, when measured against Liam Neeson’s tough, take no prisoners Dad in “Taken,” Travolta is as cute as a teddy bear with an Uzi, no matter how many baddies he manages to shoot down. Both actors play the equivalent of supermen, immune to bullets and cuts. But Neeson comes out on top because he is forced to perform outside his comfort zone whereas Travolta is, well, playing Travolta. There is even a “Pulp Fiction” reference thrown in for good measure that may be amusing at first, but at the same time, reminds us of how far better a filmmaker Quentin Tarantino is.

The film shifts gears in the final act as it succumbs to some sappiness courtesy of producer and writer Luc Besson. Instead of going out with a bang, the movie goes out with a whimper. Although, based on the final shot, a sequel may not be far off.

CAFE'S RATING SYSTEM:
FOUR SHOTS: The perfect brew
THREE SHOTS: A decent brew
TWO SHOTS: A weak brew
ONE SHOT: Tastes like tar

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