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If movies could have identity crises, then “From Paris with Love” would be the textbook example of one celluloid’s journey to find itself. From start to finish, director Pierre Morel’s vision vacillates from a pure-action film, to farce, to a romantic tearjerker (minus the tears — the viewer is too distracted by situational absurdity to notice the dramatic music cue).
The opening scene gives the perfect clue to the movie mash-up soon to follow when it plays out like a round of verbal sparring between the Marx Brothers. I won’t give away the punch line, but it involves a foreign minister and two secretaries — a blonde and a brunette.
As a clever, self-reflexive commentary on the spy movie genre, the film could work. Protagonist James Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a government employee aspiring to be a special operative in the CIA. Never mind the fact he seems to have picked up all his tricks from watching reruns of “Get Smart.” His newly-assigned partner, special agent Charlie Wax (John Travolta), politely described by superiors as “unorthodox,” is a free-wheeling, tough guy with enough John Woo-style fight scenes and poorly timed one-liners to make even the Caped Crusader blush.
Of course, James slowly learns the difference between his dreams and the brutal reality of an agent’s life, all while battling his way through a world of absolutes, where smart men play chess and villains come in strictly non-European varieties. Nevertheless, it’s hard to believe Morel, the deadly-earnest director of “Taken” had parody in mind.
But there are a few compliments to be found for “From Paris.” Astoundingly, it’s an action film that manages to be violent without being grotesque. Yet the most intriguing aspect of this film is Pierre’s decision to present the world of the spy through the sidekick’s perspective. For once, the hero of the story, when confronted with legions of quick-draw criminals from the underworld, is left just as wide-eyed and bewildered as his audience.
Unfortunately, the jarring dialogue, a far cry from screenwriter Luc Besson’s brilliant work on the 1994 action flick “Léon,” takes away from what would have otherwise passed as a mildly entertaining movie. The interesting plot twist that comes at the story’s center lies buried beneath a layer of awkwardness too thick to take the time to penetrate.
Travolta, at least, had fun with his role is evident in the smirk that every so often peers through Wax’s persona. If only the audience could get in on the joke.
From Paris with Love
R
Two reels out of four
Now playing in area theaters
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