From Paris with Love 2010

Critics score:
37 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: There's no escaping the grinding gears of an American buddy picture that loses something in the translation. Read more

A.O. Scott, At the Movies: The bazooka was as subtle and witty as the movie. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: This is Travolta's most enjoyable and energetic performance since Pulp Fiction and Primary Colors, and he's a blast to watch. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: For better or worse, From Paris With Love is an effective stimulant. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: John Travolta breaks the braggadocio meter in the latest tightly wound actioner from Taken's Pierre Morel. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Morel will inevitably be compared to John Woo, whom he trounces. He has fewer mannerisms and a keener eye; his fastest, most kinetic shots flow together like frames in a flipbook. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Mr. Morel is no Kubrick, or Tarantino, just as Mr. Travolta's caricature of John Travolta is no Travolta. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: As junky and disposable as most Besson productions, From Paris With Love is insomniac viewing, coming soon to a 2 a.m. pay-cable slot near you. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Morel unwisely switches to a more-serious tone midway through the movie, in a misguided attempt to make it appear to be weightier than it is. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: This is the sort of asinine action exercise that needs a star to blow up cars and leap from rooftop to rooftop with gusto. So right about the time that Travolta curses out the Charles De Gaulle customs staff, we know this movie has found a reason to be. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: No movie star appears to have more fun in a crap movie than John Travolta, and his inimitable my-check-has-cleared! glee is the best thing about this lame espionage thriller. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Stoopid fun, From Paris With Love doesn't do much for Paris or love, or your brain cells, but it flies like a crazed eagle on uppers and comes from the talented, propulsive schlocketeer Pierre Morel. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Is the movie worth seeing as a travelogue? Only if you are (a) a masochist, (b) a terrorist, or (c) desperate. Read more

Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News: The experience is more like watching a video game than a movie. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Extraordinarily bad by any measure. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: From Paris With Love is a ''fun trash'' movie that's more trash than fun. Read more

Laremy Legel, Film.com: If you like a violent, silly, frenetic style of film you'll find plenty to enjoy here. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: The biggest thing standing in the way of From Paris with Love achieving even that standard is the laughable casting. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: All bravado and it nearly works. But the flick's insistence on playing dumb, on shooting suspects before interrogating them and explaining anything, puts your brain on autopilot Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Rude male-bonding, eye-catching action, fast editing and loud music drive the plot; logic takes a back seat (or, sometimes, just gets shoved in the trunk). Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The movie has the patchwork plotting of grade-schoolers making up a game at recess: "The hero's a wanna-be spy! He has to hang with a brash superagent! And they hunt a drug stash that's connected to terrorists!" Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Morel's strategy is to speed up the stupid and hope no one cares. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: We all know how rotten today's movies can be, but even at the bottom of the slag pit, you won't find a load of garbage any smellier than From Paris With Love. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Morel and his crew certainly know how to stage action: the fight scenes and shootouts, the stairwell pursuits and motorway mayhem, are as good, if not better, than anything to come out of Hong Kong in a long time. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Everything's fast and furious, the good guys rarely miss, and the bad guys rarely hit. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: Would you like some fromage with all that ham, Monsieur Travolta? Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Pauline Kael has already reviewed this movie in her book Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and it only took her the title. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Crushing dull repetition that makes one noisy, violent scene play exactly like the last one. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: From Paris With Indifference is more like it. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Instead of including the audience in on the joke, it offers second-rate goods and then tries to slip them by us. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Desperately unoriginal. Read more

Jason Anderson, Toronto Star: Cast in the time-honoured double act of straitlaced newbie and wingnut-who-gets-the-job-done, Rhys Meyers and Travolta develop an affable rapport, possibly because they both recognize the movie for the trash that it is. Read more

David Jenkins, Time Out: Ita(TM)s not enough to allow the film to rise above its guilty-until-proven-innocent conception of justice. Reprehensible, then, but what fun! Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: The preposterously silly and bullet-riddled From Paris With Love is so leaden and obnoxious that it actually makes you long for the John Travolta of Old Dogs. Read more

Andrew Barker, Variety: Nowhere near as fun as that premise probably sounds. Read more

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: [Morel] brings in lobotomized entertainment at 90-odd minutes. During the February doldrums, this cannot be underestimated. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: With love, my eye. Read more