Why So Blu?

From Paris with Love a Lock n’ Load Blast

John Travolta had his heyday in the 70’s and his acting career seemingly died with disco.  Then came a resurgence of the one-time heartthrob and his career was reborn in the 90’s.  Recently, however, his career can be described as tepid with some of his works getting a warmer reception than others.  Jonathan Rhys Myers on the other hand is still making his way up the fame ladder, getting closer to becoming a household name.  Throw the two together and what do you have?  A CIA tag team in Pierre Morel’s From Paris with Love.

Don’t over-think this one, folks.  This movie is heaping order of pistol porn and plenty of over-the-top action that rocks it out shortly after starting through the very end.  Myers plays James Reece, an American CIA operative, living and working in the city of Paris, trying to increase his status within the secretive government organization.  He’s currently at the lowest rung, doing barely dangerous and very light jobs delivered to him via impromptu phone calls from a mysterious boss we never see.  Still, the end of the day is always a payoff as he returns home to his beautiful French girlfriend, Caroline (Kasia Smutniak)…then comes the call.  Reece is deemed ready for the big time and is ordered to pick up Charlie Wax as his new partner.

Wax (Travolta) is an ultra-confident, super-capable CIA spook whose unorthodox methods often bring results, but with an abundance of mayhem and a whole lot of spent casings.  The two are an odd couple to be sure.  Think of them as Mathieu and Lemmon, but armed to the teeth.  Travolta carries this film from the moment he makes his entrance to when the credits roll.  Myers makes for a good sidekick and holds his own, but the pistol-packing disco king is who will be winning over audiences here. 

As for the film’s content, the dialogue is shoddy at times, inducing comments of ‘oh god’ and ‘please’ muttered under the breaths of cinema patrons throughout the theater.  Myers’ and Travolta’s verbal ping pong is well placed for the most part, and it doesn’t take long for the two actors to develop their partnership chemistry.  The film’s action is not entirely believable, though it’s delivered in a manner that’s just plain fun with a nearly relentless fast pace.  The plot is nothing new; kill the bad guys, but it’s also a timeless formula so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!  You will even find a pretty smart and rather unexpected plot twist once or twice during the 92-minute runtime of From Paris with Love. 

Sit back and watch the bullets fly in this small arms free-for-all that contains a bit of espionage, a fair share of comedy, a little suspense and a few good booms.  This is a release-day buy on Blu-ray for me when the time comes and while it may not make the list for best films of the year, it was certainly an entertaining one.  Mission accomplished.