After Pierre Morel delivered the surprise smash Taken a couple of years ago it is no wonder he has been given another chance to strike box office gold. He certainly hasn't held back, throwing everything including the kitchen sink at making his follow up as enjoyable and adrenaline pumping as everyone is expecting it to be. He very nearly succeeds. Whilst it features some ambitious set pieces – a fist fight with a rowdy gang and a multi-storey shootout against drug-dealing terrorists stand out as two of the best – laugh out loud gags and a humorous tongue-in-cheek performance by Travolta, From Paris will alienate half the audience who saw Taken due to its over-the-top, comic book approach which can sometimes be hard to indulge. If you can lower your IQ, look past the nonsensical plot and take the outlandish action for what it is, you may find yourself smiling more than you would care to admit.
Don't let the throwaway Bond title misguide you, there is no handsome spy, futuristic gadgets or cartoonish villains on offer here. There are two elements that share a commonality with the 007 franchise though: nonstop one-liners and henchmen who just can't shoot to save themselves. Both are dispatched with effortless ease and calm control by the adroit Charlie Wax - who comes complete with self-appointed catchphrase "wax on, wax off." However Wax is so far removed from Ian Fleming's famous spy it's much easier to compare him to the scoundrels Bond has faced off against: he has the hairless dome of Blofeld, the hefty frame of Goldfinger, the love of firearms like Scaramanga and the impetuousness of Xenia Onatopp. It's credit to the ageing Travolta that we still root for Wax a hundred percent of the way.
That leaves "The Tudors" star Johnathan Rhys Meyers to play the thankless straight role of by-the-book, Cambridge educated James Reece. Different is an understatement when describing what kind of star Meyers is; he always has a sinister appearance even if that is not the intention and charisma doesn't exactly ooze out of him like it does from your Brad Pitts or Shia LeBeoufs. But he has carved out a neat little resume over the last decade and deserves this, his first lead in a bona fide Hollywood blockbuster.
Big. Dumb. Fun.
3 out of 5 (1 - Rubbish, 2 - Ordinary, 3 - Good, 4 - Excellent, 5 - Classic)
Don't let the throwaway Bond title misguide you, there is no handsome spy, futuristic gadgets or cartoonish villains on offer here. There are two elements that share a commonality with the 007 franchise though: nonstop one-liners and henchmen who just can't shoot to save themselves. Both are dispatched with effortless ease and calm control by the adroit Charlie Wax - who comes complete with self-appointed catchphrase "wax on, wax off." However Wax is so far removed from Ian Fleming's famous spy it's much easier to compare him to the scoundrels Bond has faced off against: he has the hairless dome of Blofeld, the hefty frame of Goldfinger, the love of firearms like Scaramanga and the impetuousness of Xenia Onatopp. It's credit to the ageing Travolta that we still root for Wax a hundred percent of the way.
That leaves "The Tudors" star Johnathan Rhys Meyers to play the thankless straight role of by-the-book, Cambridge educated James Reece. Different is an understatement when describing what kind of star Meyers is; he always has a sinister appearance even if that is not the intention and charisma doesn't exactly ooze out of him like it does from your Brad Pitts or Shia LeBeoufs. But he has carved out a neat little resume over the last decade and deserves this, his first lead in a bona fide Hollywood blockbuster.
Big. Dumb. Fun.
3 out of 5 (1 - Rubbish, 2 - Ordinary, 3 - Good, 4 - Excellent, 5 - Classic)