crownofsprats Look, I wasn't expecting much here. I wasn't expecting to think, to feel, to experience something "cinematic" that would warrant a review. I just wanted to be entertained. 6.5 rating, aging Travolta, Besson's name attached...how bad could it be?And it's watchable...for a while. Travolta cusses, fusses, and murders his way through a loosely plotted first half. (The other guy is functionally useless except as a rare barometer of sanity when he whines about all their rampaging and carnage.) The action scenes are so goofy they could almost be parody. With some fun plot twists and maybe a bit of courage (not to be a xenophobic, sexist sewage-clogger), this could have gone somewhere satisfying. But the last act completely ruins it, turning it into the kind of film thugs would watch to get pumped up before going out and committing hate crimes.In actuality, your average American action film viewer in the era of Trump will find this enjoyable. Hence the 6.5 rating. That's the saddest part of all.

tdsftdsf Look ...I get that there's a chadre' of folk out yonder that is fixing to de-bone n pluck anything that uses an A list person to sell tickets . However ....in this case I say don't take yourself to seriously . The movie doesn't , didn't and rightly so . The direction on this film is where the real work occurred . If you read the script prior to watching it you will get my drift as it can easily be interpreted as a cross between 48 hours, The Bourne Identity and end Up being a worse version of MI-2 . Why because the director has the daunting task of defining the movie as either one in which there is genuine serious continuity throughout or the studio - pleasing , screenwriter -pleasing muddled bi-polar typical "diehard" confused identity toned flick that ultimately leaves the outcome in the wrong hands ...that of the final editors who butcher it as if it were an unfinished Giacometti that needed to be slimmed down due to fat content . Arrrg. Pierre Morel ends up saving this thrown together script and saving the day . What was written to be a smart double-back gotcha -espionage thriller on a serious level .....but with razor sharp humorous dialogue that is supposed to bleed off the tension and get you to the next body count .....would have fallen flat had Pierre not decided to put the entire tone of the movie in check and let you not take any part seriously ,from the ridiculous cocaine sanding Down in the Chinese restaurant to the absurd marksmanship & martial arts of the protagonist .So when we realize as Mr Travola enters in the airport scene ....that the movie will be the lightest and funniest mass murder movie you may ever see, you settle in for some good old fun ....there was no expectation of reality in the action and therefore as it played we logically have low expectations of any plot ? .....the interim humor and well crafted action were plausible laughable satires of Hollywood's predictable ridiculous action flick scenes and with that in mind the plot snuck up and delivered despite itself ! ... in the end it all came together . Had it been a serious spy movie -a-5 ...but it was a gut punching laugh it up joyride from A to Z that I watched 3 times and loved every time ! Great patch job Pierre !-8+

Python Hyena From Paris With Love (2010): Dir: Pierre Morel / Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, John Travolta, Kasia Smutniak, Richard Durden, Amber Rose Revah: Amusing action comedy with an ear for dialogue. Title is a parody of the 007 action film From Russia With Love, but it also mocks the romantic images of Paris through its violence. Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays an aide to the U.S. Ambassador in France but longs to become an agent. He gets his wish when he is paired with John Travolta to stop a terrorist attack. Film starts off great until action and violence become too constant. The ending works thanks to director Pierre Morel who capitalizes on dialogue and action as a mixture. He previously directed the similar action thriller Taken. Meyers is superb as someone going from a low risk position to becoming a target. Travolta steals the film with humorous dialogue and a blunt but intelligent knack for the job. What works here is whether or not Meyers can trust Travolta and his reactions to his methods. Kasia Smutniak plays Meyers' French girlfriend who factors in. She is a key player without being reduced to a romantic prop. Richard Durden as the Ambassador is unfortunately flat in what is cliché and a weak element in the film. Other roles aren't exactly flying off the screen either leaving the leads to elevate the film higher than perhaps it deserves. The action, stunts and production are top notch despite the fact that the screenplay isn't quite as intelligent as it could be. Action fans will likely accept this film with love while others may vacation elsewhere to broader entertainment. Score: 6 ½ / 10

statuskuo ...whenever he is out of control and in charge of his world, it's hard not to like him. He's smug, violent loud and American in a world that despises all of that to which we embrace. I don't think snobs would enjoy this movie, as it boils down all your most ridiculous fears about terrorism, drugs, and gangs into the simplest form of targets. It's not for the intellectual, it's for venting. And if you approach it with that idea of fun, you can go along with the outrageous set up.I absolutely had fun watching this film. Pierre Morel is very capable of stunt coordination without it just being non-sensical. Everything is amp'd up but plausible. He balances it out with a warm look at Paris. And it's idiosyncratic characters. He stretches the love of its people and also the things that drive him nuts (bureaucracy).Not so when Travolta comes in like a bull and takes charge. It's a cartoon to be sure.