This action-packed well-edited tautly-scripted high-quality production stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I was mesmerized by the compelling performances by both John Travolta and Jonathan R. M. - who both play anti-terrorist U.S. agents. John Travolta's devil-may-care attitude was a joy to experience - and Jonathan R. M. nailed his role as a naive idealistic diplomatic aide/black ops agent-newbie/wannabe with total aplomb.

 

Initially, I had low expectations but FROM PARIS WITH LOVE totally blows me away. So far, it is the BEST action movie of 2010.

 

Luc Besson(The Fifth Element, District B 13: The Ultimatum) and Adi Hasak share screen-writing credit. Director Pierre Morel(TAKEN, District 13, and soon-to-be new adaptation of Frank Herbert's beloved 'DUNE') managed to serve up a graphically violent yet intelligently coherent 92-min movie - assisted by the talented cast and great production team.

 

The story/plot possess tremendous relevance in the current political climate.

The tonal quality of the movie is consistent throughout. Direction was first-rate. Cinematography = sharp and mood-setting. The thrilling car-chase towards the end of the movie was adrenaline-pumping chair-gripping.

 

FROM PARIS WITH LOVE's predictable ending, Jonathan Rys Meyers atrocious murderous pronunciation of Mandarin-Chinese language, and the destruction of a perfectly good Chinese vase earned the movie a minus grade.

 

VERDICT:

Highly recommended for action genre fans.

Grade: A-minus

 

Michael Lye is an ATL365 Member and Volunteer