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When we saw John Travolta hamming it up in the trailer for From Paris With Love we were, frankly, terrified about the prospect of seeing this movie. Sadly, according to the critics, that's the best part.
"...settles for routine and goes through the motions..."
— Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
"...lobotomized entertainment..."
— Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice
"Presumably pitched as a fusion of Training Day and Crank 2 — but ultimately nowhere near as fun as that premise probably sounds — From Paris With Love practically strains itself to avoid doing anything the slightest bit innovative or clever."
— Andrew Barker, Variety
"Travolta has/is a blast in an action-thriller-comedy that otherwise comes up short on all three counts."
— Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter
Posted 02.03.10 by reelz -
John Travolta is a total wild man in From Paris with Love. His foul-mouthed CIA agent Charlie Wax isn't prepared to give anyone any respect and has a decided preference for resolving any situation in the most violent way possible. It's an over-the-top character that even the actor, himself, thinks needs some justifying, as is evident in an interview over at Trailer Addict.
He starts off by offering up the standard Jack Bauer line on extra-legal violence:
He's one of those guys who, because he's so good at what he does, he can afford to be a little unethical. Only because he delivers a product of excellence up and above your average CIA agent.
Then things start to get more interesting, and more amusing, as he makes what you might call a well-tailored excuse for why Wax is so rude to the French, most notably in a dispute in Customs over a can of soda.
He's giving the Customs a hard time, with a lot of foul language, and a lot of threatening ideas and prejudices, and he's not letting up at all. And if I were to be more normally dressed, and normal in my attitude, it would be more … not as appealing. But when you are dressed the way I am.... If I were in a three-piece suit, it would be offensive. You would say, "What's a guy like that talking like this?" But shaved head ... kinda gruff, it's not as offensive.
To be fair to Wax though, there is another explanation for why he is giving them such a hard time. In a new clip from the movie we find out that there really was something in that soda can he was trying to distract attention from with that outburst of chauvinism. Still, that doesn't completely explain why he seems to be enjoying the confrontation so much.
Posted 01.31.10 by reelz -
John Travolta has a really foul mouth — at least when he is playing American special agent Charlie Wax in From Paris with Love. Hence, all of the recent previews of the movie are skewing age-restricted. Indeed from everything from the movie that has been released so far, Wax (whose name certainly fits his shiny bald head) is quite the piece of work, as happy putting bullets into people as he is shooting off his mouth. And the expletives flow every bit a freely here as they did in Pulp Fiction.
Travolta's larger-than-life character clearly is intended to be a centerpiece of this latest thriller by Pierre Morel, the director of Taken. But the action and suspense clearly keep the story moving, as Wax and his French partner try and track down a terrorist threat. In the latest clip, we see Wax zipping up his fly as he comes out of bathroom, lackadaisically assessing the progress his French partner (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) is making in a fight and, as always, coming up with a higher caliber-solution.
For more of the action, you can check out various other (also age-restricted) short clips on the movie's revamped website.
Posted 01.25.10 by reelz -
A buddy cop flick which pairs a sophisticated Paris investigator (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) with his boorish and foul-mouthed American counterpart Charlie Wax (John Travolta), From Paris with Love aims to balance out the action and suspense with a truly over-the-top performance by Travolta. While the earlier previews featured Travolta shooting off his big guns, this latest red-band trailer puts his big mouth front and center.
Whether trying out some Elvis moves, or showing off his cultural sensitivity, Wax is a cartoonish ugly American, played for laughs and apparently destined to save the day despite his preference for resolving any problem with the most outrageous and violent response possible. Trying to keep Wax out of trouble definitely keeps his partner busy full time.
Posted 01.10.10 by reelz -
Wisecracking and borderline crazy FBI agent Charlie Wax (John Travolta) has ostensibly come to France in pursuit of terrorists in Pierre Morel's From Paris with Love. But from what we see in the new trailer, what really gets him going is all the opportunities the mission gives him to shoot big guns and kick ass. He's having way too much fun to be Jack Bauer, but he certainly shares the 24 star's lack of limits ... and Paris may need some repair work after he's done.
The action sequences here are nicely choreographed, showing off the bent for the genre that director Morel honed in Taken. If the movie ends up anything like this trailer suggests, it should be a fun ride.
Posted 01.05.10 by reelz -
Thanks to SlashFilm, we have the first full-length trailer for Pierre Morel's From Paris with Love — his follow-up to Taken, a movie with the apparent goal of making all young girls scared to travel abroad.
The movie stars a bald John Travolta as an American spy who hooks up with a young embassy employee in Paris. Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays his partner, and Amber Rose Revah is the romantic love interest and leading lady. From Paris with Love boasts a shocking surprise ending. So, we're pumped to see it. If it's as suspenseful as Taken, it is sure to be a good ride.
Posted 09.17.09 by reelz -
John Travolta is in Paris, making a new movie about love. It's called From Paris with Love. So how come when we look at this photo of Travolta on set all we can think of is professional wrestling?
Posted 11.11.08 by reelz