DVD
REVIEW: FROM
PARIS WITH LOVE
6/05/10
SYNOPSIS: Trigger-happy special agent Charlie Wax (Travolta) leads rookie James Reese (Rhys Meyers) on a high-speed shooting frenzy through the Parisian underworld during a high-stakes CIA mission to foil a terrorist attack planned on the city. Before Reese realizes he’s bitten off more than he can chew, the duo discovers that he’s a target of the same crime ring planning the attack. With only 48 hours to save the city, there is no turning back and only one deadly way out. Pack your bags and get ready for a serious adrenaline-rush of adventure!
REVIEW: From director,
Pierre Morel, who brought us the incredibility action packed
Taken, comes From Paris with Love. Here Morel, also sets up some
incredible action scenes, but what I was really looking forward
to was another no holds bar performance by John Travolta and let
me tell you that Travolta did not disappoint. Similarly to his
wild characters in movies like Broken Arrow, and Swordfish,
Travolta’s take on the role of bad ass is probably one of the
best if not the best.
I won’t go into the plot of the movie, suffice it to say it‘s
not original. It deals with secret agents, spies and terrorist.
The reason to watch the movie is to see Travolta play a bad ass
and this is where my first problems comes in. It takes about
fifteen minutes into the movie before Travolta shows up. At one
point I even thought I was watching the wrong movie. Fortunately
Travolta’s introduction scene, going through customs in Paris,
is a classic. My favorite line from the scene is “Don’t get your
panties in a bunch just cause I used the M-word as an
adjective…..cause I rather use it as a noun.” After this the
action starts and Travolta’s Charlie Wax starts kicking ass left
and right. While the action is up to par with what we’ve seen in
Taken, in Taken the stakes were higher and we felt an attachment
to character’s struggle. Here we don’t; the movie just bounces
from scene to scene never creating a meaningful connection.
However, I still have to give it to Travolta for not only making
the movie worth watching, but entertaining. I also have to hand
it to the writers, who wrote the sleek dialog. There are also
other actors in the movie, but Travolta’s performance so far
exceeds them that they are not worth mentioning. This one is
definitely a much see.
Review
By Milton Brayson
milton@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.35:1)
AUDIO:
English
Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles - English Spanish
SPECIAL
FEATURES:
Audio commentary with Director Pierre Morel
From Paris
with Love - Making-Of - Screenwriter Adi Hasak discusses
how he got together with Luc Besson to create and write the
movie. (26:41)
Spies, Spooks and Special Ops. Life Under Cover - A very
good, but short documentary with former spies about how the spy
business really works. (16:05)
Secrets of Spycraft: Inside The International Spy Museum
- A brief look at the International Spy Museum in Washington DC
4:26
Theatrical trailer
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