From Paris With Love

Luc Besson is the kind of filmmaker whose films you often must check your brain at the door. But he never dissapoints at keeping your attention whether of not his productions are good or bad. Thankfully, FROM PARIS WITH LOVE can be placed in the former.

This film adds more humor and a bit less dramatic urgency then Besson & director Pierre Morel's previous film TAKEN, and the story (for those like myself who have seen a LOT of spy thrillers) is straight from Espionage 101, with traitors who are easy to spot, and villains who might come off as borderline offensive ethnic stereotypes. But 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 a lot of the stuff I've seen in quite a while.

Travolta is on fire here, sporting a bad-ass shaved head and devil's goatee, spouting off "mutha-fucka" with aplomb. You can tell the actor is having a blast as Charlie Wax. It is without doubt his coolest character since Chili Palmer. Ryhs-Myers handles his straight-man role just right letting his presense and detrermined spy keep Wax in check while making some shocking (to him) discoveries along the way. Also special notice to actress Kasia Smutniak who takes a thankless role and makes it memorable to stand out amongst the ensuing mayhem on screen (she's very easy on the eyes to boot).