Parents' Guide to

From Paris with Love

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Disappointing thriller pours on the violence.

Movie R 2010 95 minutes
From Paris with Love Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 7 parent reviews

hgh
hgh Adult
March 27, 2019
age 13+

awesome

amazing

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Shane T.
Shane T. Adult
November 25, 2017
age 16+

None

None
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has an important job at the American embassy in Paris as an assistant to the ambassador, but he'd rather be a CIA agent. He's performed low-level jobs for the agency before, but nothing too exciting until he gets called on to pair up with Charlie Wax (John Travolta), a veteran agent with an unorthodox approach to the job. Right from the start, James isn't sure that he and Charlie make a good team, but there's no time to second-guess. A terrorist plot is unfolding that threatens national security.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7):
Kids say (2):

This movie's over-the-top and muddled, and discerning audiences aren't likely to feel the love. Director Pierre Morel clearly attended the school of buddy-cop action films: FROM PARIS WITH LOVE has nearly all the ingredients of an edge-of-your-seat thriller: carefully choreographed sequences, a torrent of fast-paced fights and chases, suspense. What's lacking? First, a plot that, at the very least, isn't so annoyingly convoluted as to distract from enjoying the movie in the first place. And chemistry between the two leads, which is passably awkward at best and tin-eared at worst. The partnership between James and Wax simply doesn't fly -- a problem considering its metamorphosis is somewhat essential to the story.

As the rogue Wax, Travolta impresses with his enthusiasm. But we never once forget that we're seeing Travolta playing "bad." As for Rhys Meyers -- his American accent is full of holes, with Britishisms leaking out everywhere. Though he's a fine actor, he doesn't seem fully comfortable playing this role. But, really, the problem's the plot, which panders to today's terrorist fears. And though film buffs may appreciate the Quentin Tarantino reference made by, of course, Travolta, it's yet another awkward moment in an overly violent, nuanced-starved enterprise.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violence in this film. Do you feel emotionally affected by watching the gunshots and deaths? How is this experience different from what you would feel like if you saw these things in real life?

  • Charlie Wax appears to perform his duties with little emotional response. Is this necessary in his line of work? What makes him and James similar? Or different? What more relatable jobs require some emotional distance?

Movie Details

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