From Paris With Love Is Stupid Fun

John Travolta's having—and being—a blast in spy shoot-em-up
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 5, 2010 8:07 AM CST

A trigger-happy John Travolta is not only the main event but the only event in the gleefully over-the-top spy movie From Paris With Love, say critics.

  • Travolta, plainly having a blast as a "bald-headed, goateed, gonzo CIA agent with a short fuse" is the standout in this "otherwise unsightly heap of nonsense that keeps tripping over its own swagger," writes Michael Rechtshaffen at the Hollywood Reporter.

  • Travolta is "chaos and carnage incarnate," with Jonathan Rhys Meyers as his hapless handler, in this "bloody buddy picture that tries too hard," writes Roger Moore at the Orlando Sentinel.
  • Stephen Holden at the New York Times is "ashamed to admit that this empty-headed, preposterous, possibly evil mélange of gunplay and high-speed car chases on Parisian boulevards is a feel-good movie that produces a buzz."
  • If you're looking for plot or character development, look elsewhere, advises James Berardinelli at ReelViews. This is pure "comic book/popcorn action. If that's your kind of movie, it's hard to go wrong with this one.
(More From Paris With Love reviews stories.)

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