Travolta on Form Shocker!!

From Paris with Love (2010)

The poster, trailer and cheekily pilfered(from the Bond canon) title of this film, plus the threat of Travolta overacting- always a double-edged sword of one part entertaining(Face Off), to two parts appalling(see pretty much everything else), did not bode well. Infact, the director of Taken(2008) was a plus negated by the Luc Besson producer credit which is not necessarily a mark of quality anymore.
As the film starts, all of my worst fears seemed to be realized. Jonathan Rhys Meyers American accent slides about uncomfortably like a contact lense that doesn’t want to stay in, while Travolta gets a big reveal scene which is instantly undercut by him swearing and shouting about energy drinks and the French. Does the plot of a big American cutting a swath through France sound familiar? Later there is also an uncomfortable Pulp Fiction(1994) reference which is in danger of reminding us of a much better film. Like Taken though, this is another slow starter which gets progressively better as it goes along. Travolta we realize is putting on his asshole façade(sometimes very amusingly with his ‘I Love Paris’ hat), rather than just being one, while Rhys Meyers, less interesting but still believable, is forced to go off book with his protocol. There is also a nicely held threat that Travolta’s Charlie Wax may turn out to be the bad guy after all. The film’s twist is sadly telegraphed but still provides a shock in the film’s best scene at a dinner party, and then doesn’t leave you enough time to question it too closely as it races for the finish with a great Ronin(1998) style motorway chase. Not Shakespeare then, but a refreshingly short action thriller with a distinctive French taste, and Travolta having more fun but also irritating us less than he has in 15 years. 8/10