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John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kasia Smutniak, Richard Durden, Bing Yin ... see more see more... , Amber Rose Revah , Eric Godon , François Bredon , Chems Dahmani , Sami Darr , Julien Hagnery , Monstefa Stiti , Rebecca Dayan , Michael Vander-Meiren , Didier Constant , Alexandra Boyd , Mike Powers , Jeffrey Braco , Stephen Shagov , Nick Loren , Farid Elouardi , Joaquim Almeria , Melissa Mars , Yin Hang , Frédéric Chau , Tam Solo , David Gasman

A low-ranking intelligence operative (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) working in the office of the U.S. Ambassador in France takes on more than he bargained for when he partners with a wisecracking, fast-shooti... read more read more...ng, high-ranking U.S. agent (John Travolta) who’s been sent to Paris to stop a terrorist attack.

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58% liked it

145,483 ratings

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37% liked it

147 critics

R, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Pierre Morel

Release Date: February 5, 2010

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DVD Release Date: June 8, 2010

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Stats: 7,540 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (7,540)

  • roygutteridge
    August 14, 2010
    roygutteridge
    A blistering pace, a certifiable performance from Travolta and a delicious body count.
  • binky013
    August 13, 2010
    binky013
    Argh . . .

    You all know how much I like John Travolta, but I gotta say that even die-hard Travolta fans may not want to spend the effort to watch this. If you want a prime example of absolutely horrible dialog, this is a good one -- not to mention a weak, ridiculous story.

    ... read more

    And let me ask you this: If you'd just shot your one true love through the head and killed her -- even though you'd discovered she is a terrorist who intends to kill hundreds of people -- how long do you think it would be before you could laugh and smile and joke around, while playing a happy game of chess even, with your covert operations buddy? Oh, and when Travolta pulled out that series of photos, I'm sorry, I had to laugh out loud. Come on, John, you don't need to do stuff like this anymore -- not to mention that you may be getting a wee bit old to play the a**-kicking action guy. Let's get a little bit more selective, buddy.
  • DouglasWCollins
    July 27, 2010
    DouglasWCollins
    Great action movie was way better than expected
  • jmanard52
    June 26, 2010
    jmanard52
    Non stop action lots of explosions a wise cracking Travolta. This was a good time from start to finish. Didnt have to think at all!
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    June 18, 2010
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    The kind of action film I WANT from the director of TAKEN. Blood, guns, drugs and explosions. Everyone needs films like this, and for what it is, FROM PARIS WITH LOVE gets it right. Travolta was a standout aswell.

    An extremely fun action romp... and one of the years more under... read morerated!
  • Chiefilms
    June 8, 2010
    Chiefilms
    John Travolta as the loud mouthed "badass" just doesn't work anymore, he looks rough with a "Just for Men" gotee. The premise of this movie blows like a Parisian subway. Luc Besson is extremely hit or miss. Got his game back with "Taken" but lost it again with this sheotter.
  • PvtCaboose91
    March 26, 2010
    PvtCaboose91
    "This motherfucker hates Americans so much, even though we saved his country's ass in not only one world war but two, he still won't let me through with my cans!"


    While the title of From Paris with Love may imply that it's a romantic comedy featuring the Eiffel

    ... read moreTower, the title is in fact a James Bond homage, and the production is a hardcore, no-holds-barred action flick which arrives courtesy of Luc Besson's production factory. For those unaware, Besson is the French filmmaker who produces American action films with far more verve than American filmmakers themselves. Not long ago, Besson and director Pierre Morel teamed up for the surprise hit Taken, and From Paris with Love marks another Besson/Morel collaboration. But while Taken was a gritty, hard-hitting actioner, From Paris with Love is a straight-up cartoon; an exaggerated cocktail of two-dimensional villainy, verbal bluster, mayhem, John Woo-esque action set-pieces and an over-the-top John Travolta as a cocky government operative tracking down an array of terrorists in the heart of France. Intellectually, the movie is flat as a pancake, but on a visceral level it's extremely involving. The film knows precisely what it is, and does a damn good job of being it.


    The story is at once incomprehensible and expendable, but it's sufficient to drive the characters from Point A to Point B, which is all that matters in an action flick. In the film, Travolta's character of Charlie Wax is a profane American killing machine who's paired up with James Reece (Myers); a mild-mannered aid to the U.S. Ambassador in Paris with large aspirations. By the time Wax and Reece have known each other for a mere hour, the body count has already started to mount considerably. At first, Wax claims he's taking down a bunch of drug dealers responsible for the death of the Secretary of Defence's daughter, but his real mission is soon revealed: to eliminate a terrorist cell before the members launch an attack.


    After 2004's District B13 and the recent Taken, director Pierre Morel has positioned himself as a superior action director. He has a masterful touch when it comes to pace, and From Paris with Love benefits greatly from such exhilarating acceleration. After a slow opening, the film takes off like a champion racehorse once Wax enters the film, as the screenplay by Adi Hasak (Shadow Conspiracy) lines up a series of unsavoury characters - all of whom are one-dimensional stereotypes, of course - for Wax and Reese to ice during their fast-paced trip around the city. However, the problem is that it takes a little too long for the film to hits its stride. The first 20 minutes are genuinely lousy, even by the admittedly low standards to which the movie was aspiring. In action flicks, the segues bridging the action tend to suck, and From Paris with Love is no exception. As the film establishes James Reece, it's frankly boring, and the tone is out-of-place when compared to the light-hearted action which pervades the film's final hour.


    Thankfully, after the 20-minute point, the movement of Morel's direction is enthralling; leaping from location to location, staging shootouts and action set-pieces with a cartoonish quality to match Travolta's performance. Even if Morel appears to be on autopilot, he nonetheless delivers in each and every set-piece, sending bullets flying all over the place like it's nobody's business. As a matter of fact, the action evokes the spirit of John Woo movies. It's such a relief to watch a modern action flick containing action that has been edited to ensure an audience knows what's going on at any given time, as opposed to set-pieces that have been cut to incomprehensible ribbons. More pertinently, it's fantastic to see a contemporary actioner in which bad guys get popped in violent, bloody ways, without the cleanliness of the Hollywood-favourite PG-13 rating. As the action intensifies and the explosions keep getting bigger, one gets the feeling that it's building to a big climax. However, From Paris with Love fails in its finale - cheesy character interaction and impassioned speeches have no place in such a film as this.


    Luc Besson's films usually feature recognisable Hollywood names, and the A-lister of From Paris with Love is John Travolta who absolutely steals the motherfucking show. Dispersing first-rate one-liners, shooting the hell out of the bad guys and beating the snot out of anyone who challenges him, Travolta truly chews up the scenery with the gusto of a hungry dog attacking a meal. Travolta simply owns the role. He was born to play this role. He's the hook - without him, the movie would be ordinary, but with him, there's always something to enjoy during the film's slowest moments. As legendary YouTube reviewer Jeremy Jahns said, if Jack Bauer (from 24) and Samuel L. Jackson had a child, it would be Travolta's character here. Meanwhile, Jonathan Rhys Meyers was given the unenviable task of playing the straight man to Travolta. Anyone could play this role, and Meyers never stands out as anything but interchangeable. Still, he's watchable at least.


    From Paris with Love is one of those movies that consists almost entirely of over-the-top action sequences tenuously linked together by a painfully formulaic, by-the-numbers plotline and two-dimensional characters. From this description, it may sound like a brain-dead blockbuster that doesn't care about how lazy or graceless it is as long as there's sound and fury to temporarily distract the audience. But what prevents From Paris with Love from hopelessly falling into this trap is a great deal of style, energy and personality. It's an enjoyable, lively old-school bullet ballet that's low on CGI, and this separates it from the abominable films of such directors as Michael Bay and McG. It's nonsensical cinematic junk food at its core, but, like the best junk food, it goes down so well and tastes so good that those with a taste for such things should find it absolutely irresistible.
  • KhrisP
    March 20, 2010
    KhrisP
    The trailer doesn't leave much to think about... though the twist within is a reason to watch this movie, even though it's not exactly subtle.

    Like Morel's blockbuster TAKEN, the movie starts normally, at a normal pace, the normal issues and boring life of a wannabe CIA agent.
    ... read more
    That is, until a rookie agent James Reese is assigned to the Agency's no.1 Troubleshooter, and like a rollercoaster, it all falls fast at breakneck speed.

    For most of the movie, who knows what Special Agent Charlie Wax is up to, following tenous leads through Paris, blowing away drug dealers and scum like a walk in the park, with a hapless Resse following behind, trying to figure out the real reason for the unecessary violence. But of course, when things start getting down to normal, it's really the eye of the storm and Reese finds out the shocking truth of why Wax is really in Paris.

    Good action,fight and gun scenes are very slick and smooth, but the piece de resistance' was the high speed chase on the motorway with Wax hanging out the window armed with a rocket launcher, some excellent driving and cinematography capturing it in full speed.

    I guess the twist was needed to bring this movie down to earth after the first hour's carnage and destruction, though if you're wondering why the movie is called "From Paris with Love", it will become clear from the twist to the end.

    A mindless action trip into Paris, don't expect anything else really, except some over the top action and Travolta playing a wild man, reminiscent of "Castor Troy" from FACE OFF - his charisma and craziness comes through enough for fans to enjoy.
  • stopitgoaway
    March 19, 2010
    stopitgoaway
    Im a big action movie fan and not normally a fan of John Travolta movies but after seeing the trailer for From Paris With Love, I thought ''Wow, that looks awesome!''. I was right, it was. I really enjoyed Taken (with Liam Neeson) which was directed by Pierre Morel, and thought t... read morehis would be similar and therefore very exciting and enjoyable. Morel's breakneck directing style was perfect for Taken and adds to the flow of the movie.

    Whereas Liam Neeson is a father hunting for a kidnapped daughter in Taken, Travolta plays CIA Agent Charlie Wax and is completely crazy, in the old fashioned gung-ho American way. He's teamed with a Paris based, chess playing aide to the US Ambassador called Reese (played by Jonathan Rys Meyers), who, while he wants to see more 'action' in his job, is shocked by his new partner's 'unorthadox methods' in taking down a terrorist cell who intend to blow up visiting US delegates. Travolta is insane in this movie, taking cocaine and having sex with hookers all while disposing of the bad guys with the minimum of fuss. I think he kills almost 100 people, indiscriminately, in this film. And calling the Arab bad guys ''towel-heads'' wont win him much friends in the far east but it makes him the perfect guy to take down a Paris-based Islamic terrorist cell.

    From Paris With Love has taken around $30m worldwide and probably made a loss on production costs but i'm sure that if this movie was released in 1986 it would have grossed over $100m because it is very 80's like, similar to a lot of action packed Stallone, Arnie or Chuck Norris movies. Like I said, Travolta is crazy in this and for an action junkie like me that's what we want, but the problem was that the marketing relied on potential audiences being excited to see him in an outrageously bald-and-goatee'd action role over anything else. The campaign also pushed the fact that FPWL was from the director of Taken (Morel), but that picture was a serious action movie with a relatable theme, and FPWL is just plan action packed entertainment where you leave your brain at the door.

    It's just non-stop blast 'em and work it out later, which is fine by me and I really enjoyed it but general audiences would probably reject such machismo in this day in age, which is strange as 2010 seems to be some kind of 80's revival movie-wise with remakes and action films by the bucket load. The plot is simplistic and not much thought is required but the target audience are not going to see this to hear Shakespearian dialogue! It's frenetic, violent, edge of seat stuff and quite funny (thanks to the crazy Wax). This was terrific from start to finish. It's the best action film of the year to date, but with Sly's Expendable's and The new A-Team on the way in the summer, it will have competition but it made my day. Action fans will love it, other's not so...
  • DerekA101
    March 16, 2010
    DerekA101
    Harmless action flick void of any substance, yet there's something endearing here. Pierre Morel and Luc Besson surprised us last year with Taken, and now they return with a far-less serious, but equally violent From Paris With Love. What's beautiful about this fil... read morem is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. John Travolta's vibrant, yet over-the-top performance is the perfect fit for this high-octane romp. The campiness of his role is evident from the moment we meet his character holed up at a French airport belligerently arguing with customs agents over importing a few cans of American-made energy drinks into the country. Another clear indication of this film's intentions to be light-hearted entertainment is it's references to the famous "Royale with Cheese" from Travolta's cult classic Pulp Fiction.

    This is a fun satire on violence that will be heavily trashed by critics. But ignore those bastards because this is that movie you pop in while enjoying some drinks with the boys.

View All From Paris with Love Reviews

Critic Reviews

Peter Travers
February 11, 2010
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Crushing dull repetition that makes one noisy, violent scene play exactly like the last one. Full Review

A.O. Scott
February 8, 2010
A.O. Scott, At the Movies

The bazooka was as subtle and witty as the movie. Full Review

Stephen Holden
February 5, 2010
Stephen Holden, New York Times

For better or worse, From Paris With Love is an effective stimulant. Full Review

Liam Lacey
February 5, 2010
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Desperately unoriginal. Full Review

Tom Long
February 5, 2010
Tom Long, Detroit News

Extraordinarily bad by any measure. Full Review

Tom Maurstad
February 5, 2010
Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News

The experience is more like watching a video game than a movie. Full Review

Richard Roeper
February 5, 2010
Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com

Would you like some fromage with all that ham, Monsieur Travolta? Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
February 5, 2010
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

With love, my eye. Full Review

Kyle Smith
February 5, 2010
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Morel's strategy is to speed up the stupid and hope no one cares. Full Review

James Berardinelli
February 5, 2010
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Everything's fast and furious, the good guys rarely miss, and the bad guys rarely hit. Full Review

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  • John Travolta's wife, Kelly Preston, makes a cameo in this film as the woman in sunglasses in the scene in the Eiffel Tower when Johnathan Rhys Meyers' character was calling to his girlfriend.
  • i love this movie
  • Two Agents. One City. No Merci.
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