From Paris with Love (film)

Plot

A personal aide to the U.S. ambassador in France, James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has an enviable life in Paris and a beautiful French girlfriend, but his real passion is his side job as a low-level operative for the CIA. Reese wants to become a higher level agent with more responsibilities. As the result of a shortage of agents in France, he is assigned as a partner to secret agent Charlie Wax (John Travolta).

Reese's first test is to have Wax released from airport detention by the French Customs when Wax does not want to surrender the cans of his favorite energy drink. Despite the apparent triviality of an energy drink that Wax could probably purchase in Paris, Wax continues to verbally abuse French Customs until Reese places a Diplomatic Mail sticker on Wax's luggage containing the energy drink, which makes them immune from customs and quarantine requirements.

Once in the car, Wax apologizes for his behavior while opening the tins and revealing the concealed pieces of his personal SIG Sauer P226 X-Five Lightweight, which he refers to as "Mrs. Jones". Wax explains that he has been sent to Paris to investigate a drug ring at least indirectly responsible for the death of a woman who happens to be the niece of the Secretary of Defense.

During the investigation, Wax reveals that there was no overdose—their goal is to trace the money back to a circle of Pakistani terrorists. Evidence leads them to the terrorists, resulting in an armed confrontation in which most of the terrorists are killed. Wax and Reese learn that the terrorists plan to infiltrate the U.S. embassy with explosives hidden beneath their burkas. As they collect evidence, they find photographs of Agent Reese pinned to a wall.

Ultimately, Reese learns that the terrorists are targeting a summit meeting. Wax discovers that Reese's fiancée Caroline (Kasia Smutniak) is a "sleeper" agent who was assigned to infiltrate them. When confronted, Caroline shoots Reese in the shoulder and escapes through a window. A Volvo picks her up on the street below.

Caroline attempts to detonate an explosive vest while the last remaining terrorist in the Volvo attacks a US motorcade traveling to the summit by speeding towards them, wired with explosives. Wax destroys the vehicle with an AT4 rocket launcher just in the nick of time. Reese finds Caroline at the summit and attempts to dissuade her from carrying out her mission by professing his love. She attempts to detonate her vest anyway and Reese is forced to kill her.

As Wax leaves Paris, Reese escorts him to his plane. Wax offers a full-time partnership. The two play a game of chess on the tarmac, placing their handguns on a utility cart, Reese revealing that he is now carrying a Desert Eagle pistol and earning another modicum of admiration from his new partner.

Cast

Reception

The film has received mixed reviews from different critics. The film holds a 'Rotten' rating of 37% on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus being "Though not without its charms—chief among them John Travolta's endearingly over-the-top performance—From Paris with Love is too muddled and disjointed to satisfy." Rolling Stone gave one star out of four, stating, 'From Paris With Love has no vital signs at all, just crushing dull repetition that makes one noisy, violent scene play exactly like the last one.'

Box office

The film opened in the US on February 5, 2010 and took $8,158,860 on its opening weekend, ranked #3 in the charts in 2,722 theaters. The movie was open in the US from February 5, 2010 until March 11, 2010, a total of 5 weeks. Its final US domestic gross was $24,077,427. It also took just over $28m internationally for a worldwide total of $52,365,407- just grossing back its $52m budget. In July 2010 Parade Magazine listed the film as the #4 on its list of "Biggest Box Office Flops of 2010 (So Far)."

DVD

The movie was released on DVD in the US on June 8, 2010 and has so far sold 624,791 units for a gross of $11,085,323. It was the #3 biggest selling DVD in its opening week, behind Alice in Wonderland and Shutter Island, with 293,011 units sold. The movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on August 2, 2010.

Possible sequel

In an interview with Celebrity Examiner, Luc Besson commented that he would love to see From Paris With Love turn into a franchise with sequels.

Travolta said in an interview with The Star Ledger: “We could do, ‘From London With Love,’ ‘From Prague With Love.’ This is one of the only movies that I would enjoy as a franchise. I’m not a big sequel person, but this one I would love.”

As of 2015, there has been no further information on the proposed sequel.