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From Paris with Love

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 32 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 19 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Crime | Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Luc Besson
Adi Hasak
Directed by: Pierre Morel
Release Date:
Theatrical: February 5, 2010
Running Time: 95 minutes, Color
Origin: France
Language(s): English | French
Summary
RATING: R for strong bloody violence throughout, drug content, pervasive language and brief sexuality
Starring John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kasia Smutniak, and Richard Durden
A personal aide to the U.S. Ambassador in France, James Reese has an enviable life in Paris and a beautiful French girlfriend, but his real passion is his side job as a low-level operative for the CIA. All James wants is to become a bona fide agent and see some real action. So when he’s offered his first senior-level assignment, he can’t believe his good luck – until he meets his new partner, special agent Charlie Wax. A trigger-happy, wisecracking, loose cannon who’s been sent to Paris to stop a terrorist attack, Wax leads James on a white-knuckle shooting spree through the Parisian underworld that has James praying for his desk job. But when James discovers he’s a target of the same crime ring they’re trying to bust, he realizes there’s no turning back…and that Wax himself might be his only hope for making it through the next forty-eight hours alive. (Lionsgate)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Stoopid fun, From Paris With Love doesn't do much for Paris or love, or your brain cells, but it flies like a crazed eagle on uppers and comes from the talented, propulsive schlocketeer Pierre Morel.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Morel and his crew certainly know how to stage action: the fight scenes and shootouts, the stairwell pursuits and motorway mayhem, are as good, if not better, than anything to come out of Hong Kong in a long time.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
It's pure comic book/popcorn action. If that's your kind of movie, it's hard to go wrong with this one.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
I am ashamed to admit that this empty-headed, preposterous, possibly evil mélange of gunplay and high-speed car chases on Parisian boulevards is a feel-good movie that produces a buzz.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine David Edelstein
Morel will inevitably be compared to John Woo, whom he trounces. He has fewer mannerisms (no damn doves) and a keener eye; his fastest, most kinetic shots flow together like frames in a flipbook.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Nick Pinkerton
He (Morel) brings in lobotomized entertainment at 90-odd minutes. During the February doldrums, this cannot be underestimated.
Read Full Review >Time Out New York Keith Uhlich
John Travolta breaks the braggadocio meter in the latest tightly wound actioner from "Taken’s" Pierre Morel.
Read Full Review >Empire Angie Errigo
It’s absolute nonsense, of course, but does quite nicely as knockabout Friday night fun. We can smell a sequel if Travolta can be bothered.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
With his flamboyant ridiculousness, Travolta does, however, give From Paris With Love a pulse, which is more than can be said for the film’s petulant hero, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
This is the sort of asinine action exercise that needs a star to blow up cars and leap from rooftop to rooftop with gusto.
Read Full Review >Arizona Republic Bill Goodykoontz
Doesn't really know what it wants to be. Morel would have done better to remember the "to thine own self be true" bit, and stayed with the dunderheaded shoot-'em-up vibe, with Travolta having a blast, often literally.
Read Full Review >Orlando Sentinel Roger Moore
Basically a bloody buddy picture that tries too hard.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
A ''fun trash'' movie that's more trash than fun.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
I hasten to say this is not criticism of John Travolta. He succeeds in this movie by essentially acting in a movie of his own.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
Travolta has/is a blast in an action-thriller-comedy that otherwise comes up short.
Read Full Review >Variety Andrew Barker
To his credit, Travolta hams it up with the kind of laissez-faire irony that might have made the film a tongue-in-cheek pleasure, had his attitude extended to the filmmakers.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
It's a hyper-violent buddy comedy. If you like that sort of thing -- think "Training Day," with laughs -- you'll love this.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
No movie star appears to have more fun in a crap movie than John Travolta, and his inimitable my-check-has-cleared! glee is the best thing about this lame espionage thriller.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
Amid all the mayhem, there is Paris in all its faded-light glory. Is the movie worth seeing as a travelogue? Only if you are (a) a masochist, (b) a terrorist, or (c) desperate.
Read Full Review >Time Mary Pols
This pickpocket of a movie flashes open its coat to proudly display all its swiped goodies.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
The film is so self-referencing, however, that a running gag about Wax/Travolta craving a “royale with cheese” moves the film’s energy backward rather than forward. Perhaps instead it was a reference to the film’s nutritional value rather than its screen precedents.
Read Full Review >Boxoffice Magazine Pete Hammond
If so inclined for a breezy, violent time-waster audiences could do worse. Travolta sadly can do so much better.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
So leaden and obnoxious that it actually makes you long for the John Travolta of "Old Dogs."
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Still, the action is ponderous too. Mr. Morel is no Kubrick, or Tarantino, just as Mr. Travolta's caricature of John Travolta is no Travolta.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
The one thing that’s briefly enjoyable about From Paris with Love is John Travolta’s appearance. In a black leather jacket, with a shaved bald head and a goatee and a perpetual scarf to hide his jowls, he looks like a well-fed pimp or a gay bear.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Has no vital signs at all, just crushing dull repetition that makes one noisy, violent scene play exactly like the last one.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
John Travolta's From Paris With Love assassin/ superagent Charlie Wax is the master of whatever the opposite of wisecracking is. Fooljoshing? Lametalking? Flatlining?
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Holes in the script, overwrought camera work, dialogue that's embarrassing, and a plot device that's obvious 10 minutes into the movie - all these are major problems.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
Both mean-spirited and self-conscious. It's all style and no soul, which wouldn't be a problem if its style at least gave us something to look at, or to laugh at. But From Paris With Love, filmed on location in Paris, has a raggedy, greasy, dingy look: It's the movie equivalent of an unbathed, unshaven French boyfriend (the bad kind). It thinks it's suave, but it just smells bad.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Joe Neumaier
This sock-it-to-'em souffle falls very quickly, unless watching Travolta trying on another faux-hip look is considered fun.
Read Full Review >New York Observer Rex Reed
We all know how rotten today’s movies can be, but even at the bottom of the slag pit, you won’t find a load of garbage any smellier than From Paris With Love.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Cam T gave it a6:
This movie was a plain and predictable action flick. It was worth a watch but not much more. John Travolta as the bad ass american agent was definitely the highlight of this flick and he manages to carry it through till the end. If you like action movies you will definitely want to see this. It was worth watching but I'm not holding my breath for the DVD.
Eggy G. gave it a6:
An average popcorn action movie. John Travolta was the main fun part, his character was dominate the screen and really helped cover all of the boring/confusing plot.
Riel C. gave it a10:
I don't know why the critics didn't like it... I enjoyed this movie very much. It has the perfect balance between action and comedy.
Michael S.h gave it a2:
As lame a film as I've seen in a long time. There is no plot, the mismatched buddy bit has never been done this poorly, the parts that are supposed to be funny fall flat, the main antagonist's motives are unknown, and it's probably offensive to people from the Middle East.
Iris M. gave it a5:
Well, I could of predicted the entire movie as soon as John Travolta was fortelling the moves in the movie. This was a "been there, done it" movie. Nothing specatular or new... I was kind of funny though... It could of been a rental for me, instead of a night out with the hubby movie.
Joe M gave it an8:
This movie is alot of fun, the action is fantastic and this is travoltas best role since pulp fiction. Director Pierre Morel has proven himself a fantastic action director and I look forward to seeing more from him.
Marc D. gave it an8:
A surprisingly fun movie, actually. I went in with modest expectations, but Travolta was excellent in this film. And JRM was the straight, and he did a decent job. I had no idea that Besson was the director until the intro titles, but he did a terrific job with the story and direction.
