From Paris with Love (2010)

In Paris, a young employee in the office of the US Ambassador hooks up with an American spy looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city.

Director:

Pierre Morel

Writers:

Adi Hasak (screenplay), Luc Besson (story)

Stars:

John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kasia Smutniak

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Travolta	...	Charlie Wax
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	James Reese
Kasia Smutniak	...	Caroline
Richard Durden	...	Ambassador Bennington
Bing Yin	...	M. Wong
Amber Rose Revah	...	Nichole
Eric Godon	...	Foreign Minister
François Bredon	...	The Thug
Chems Dahmani	...	Rashid (as Chems Eddine Dahmani)
Sami Darr	...	The Pimp
Julien Hagnery	...	Chinese Punk
Mostéfa Stiti	...	Dir Yasin
Rebecca Dayan	...	Foreign Minister's Aide
Michaël Vander-Meiren	...	Airport Security Official
Didier Constant	...	Customs Official

Storyline

James Reece is an ambitious aide to the U.S. Ambassador in Paris, doing little jobs for the CIA and hoping to get into black ops. On the night he and his girlfriend, Caroline, become engaged, he's told to pick up Charlie Wax at Orly. Charlie is an unorthodox government employee - large, bald and bearded, foul-mouthed and eccentric. Charlie immediately takes James on a wild ride of murder and mayhem, through ethnic enclaves. As bodies pile up, the purpose remains opaque to James. Caroline, unhappy that James has been out of touch for a day, tells him to bring Charlie for dinner. Charlie can be charming - where will it lead? Does the chess-playing James have what it takes?

---

Plot Keywords:

islamic terrorism | premarital sex | cell phone trace | triad | 21th century | 

---

Taglines:

From the Director of 'Taken'

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, drug content, pervasive language and brief sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

France

Language:

English French Mandarin German

Release Date:

5 February 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Iz Pariza s ljubavlju

Filming Locations:

Voie Georges Pompidou, Paris 1, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$52,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,158,860, 7 February 2010, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$23,979,741, 7 March 2010

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$52,826,594, 11 March 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, M6 Films, Grive Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX DTS-ES SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is a spy genre film and it is interesting to note that the title of the earlier film To Paris with Love (1955) is said to have been the inspiration for James Bond creator Ian Fleming for the title of his 1957 James Bond spy novel, "From Russia With Love" which was later made into the film From Russia with Love (1963).

---

Goofs

When Charlie uses his watch to send coordinates to the satellite, the satellite zooms in on a location northwest of Paris. The coordinates Charlie sends (48.79, 2.337) are actually south of the city, near Orly Airport.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
James Reece: [accepts printout] Thank you, Cindy.
Secretary: Welcome...
James Reece: [reading] African Aid Summit prep meeting with the Foreign Minister tomorrow at noon, Summit Conference on Wednesday, G8 Undersecretary conference dinner on Thursday, and a reception for the Secretary of State Friday, sir.
Ambassador Bennington: Can't you see we have more urgent matters to consider, Reece?
[moves his queen]
James Reece: Of course, sir.
[counter moves his queen]
James Reece: Check.
Ambassador Bennington: Must you always be so methodical?
[...]

---

Connections

Referenced in From Paris with Love: Secrets of Spy Craft (2010)

---

Soundtracks

Blowback
Written by Dan Morrissey
K MUSIK / DED GOOD MUSIC

User Reviews

Good action, with Travolta back on track again

Morel and Besson have carried out a nice collaboration and the result is a good action thriller where twists and swings begin soon, giving place to multiple unexpected and funny moments. Again, Travolta shows his indisputable talent, outperforming his co-star Myers - who was probably included to attract younger (female) audience; the script could have been amended for Travolta + some of his contemporaries, for example. Smutniak is sexy and good, but nothing special, just another Bond-type girl.

Shootings and chases are fast, excellently accomplished, and the movie is rather short than lengthy - one could have even prolong the almost final episode at the Embassy.

Recommended if you desire a fast action when eyes must be always focused on the screen.