gave himself and his stunt double a helluva workout in “From Paris With
Love,” a gonzo spy shoot-em-up from the folks who gave us “Taken. “
But even though the action is every bit as explosive
and the jokey tone is an amusing departure from “Taken’s” serious man
“with very particular skills,” “Paris” is basically a bloody buddy
picture that tries too hard.
Travolta is
functionary who longs to move up the espionage ranks. When he hooks up
with
Charlie is chaos and carnage incarnate — a trigger-happy killer who’s a bit too old for his hip-hop wardrobe and his slang.
“If you want to BE a ‘secret agent man,’ you’ve got
to roll like a secret agent man!” Charlie declares. He bullies French
customs officers so he can smuggle his gun into the country, then sings
to his gun, “Mrs. Jones,” as he assembles it — “Me a-aand Missus, MRS.
JONES.”
And he blows through
Travolta seems to be having a blast as this guy, going all “Swordfish” over-the-top, referencing the
American accent but struggling mightily to give this
chase-and-shoot-and-chase-some-more actioner some heart and conscience.
Reece is reluctant to pull a trigger, anxious to avoid confrontations
and bloodshed. And Charlie ain’t having it. He tries to make his
partner man up, but learning the kid was into “Star Trek” doesn’t help.
“Kirk or Spock?”
“Uhura!”
Director
with Pistols a little pace and a smidgen of flair. One shootout, in a
mannequin factory, is straight out of the Stanley Kubrick filmography.
But there’s no escaping the grinding gears of an American buddy picture
that loses something in the translation.
From Paris With Love
2 stars
Cast:
Directors:
Running time: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Industry rating: R for strong bloody violence throughout, drug content, pervasive language and brief sexuality
—
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