From Paris with Love (film)

Last updated

From Paris with Love
FromParisWithLovePoster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Pierre Morel
Screenplay by Adi Hasak
Story by Luc Besson
Produced byIndia Osborne
Starring John Travolta
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Kasia Smutniak
Richard Durden
Cinematography Michel Abramowicz
Edited byFrédéric Thoraval
Music by David Buckley
Production
companies
EuropaCorp
M6
Eclair Films
Canal+
Distributed byEuropaCorp Distribution [1]
Release date
  • February 5, 2010 (2010-02-05)(United States)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguagesEnglish
French
Budget$52 million [1]
Box office$52.8 million [1]

From Paris with Love is a 2010 English-language French action thriller film directed by Pierre Morel and starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The screenplay was co-written by Luc Besson. The film was released in the United States on February 5, 2010, by Lionsgate Films and both in the United Kingdom and Japan by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Contents

Plot

James Reese, a personal aide to the U.S. ambassador in France, lives comfortably in Paris with his girlfriend Caroline, but his real passion is his side job as a low-level operative for the CIA. Due to a shortage of operatives in France, he is eventually partnered with field agent Charlie Wax. However, Reese finds Wax detained by French Customs as Wax refuses to surrender cans of his favorite energy drink. Despite the apparent triviality of the situation, Wax continues to verbally abuse French Customs until Reese uses his diplomatic authority to allow Wax's luggage through customs.

Once in the car, Wax apologizes for his behavior and reveals that the cans actually held pieces of his personal sidearm. Wax then explains that he has been sent to Paris to investigate a Triad drug ring, indirectly responsible for the death of the niece of the Secretary of Defense. During the investigation, Wax raids a Triad run restaurant and warehouse, where he reveals that his true objective is to trace money back to a circle of Pakistani terrorists. Evidence leads them to the terrorist hideout in a rundown apartment, resulting in an armed confrontation wherein most of the terrorists are killed. There, 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 Reese pinned to a wall.

Ultimately, Reese learns that the terrorists are targeting a summit meeting. During dinner at Reese's apartment, Wax realizes, due to her roommate inadvertently revealing the terrorist's codeword 'Rose' during a phone call, that Reese's fiancée Caroline is a sleeper agent who was assigned to infiltrate them. Wax shoots the roommate dead, and proves to Reese that the entire apartment was bugged, and that there was a locator transmitter in the ring she gave Reese. When confronted, Caroline shoots Reese in the shoulder and escapes through a window, before a car picks her up on the street below.

Caroline plans to detonate an explosive vest at the summit while the other remaining terrorist speeds towards a U.S. motorcade in an attempted suicide attack, although Wax destroys the vehicle with a rocket launcher just in time. Reese then finds Caroline at the summit and attempts to dissuade her from carrying out her mission, but she attempts to detonate her vest anyway and Reese is ultimately forced to kill her, telling her that he loves her one final time before pulling the trigger. As the U.S. official from the motorcade arrives at the summit, she berates Reese for inconveniencing her, and Wax reminds Reese of the often ungrateful and ignorant people they protect.

As Wax leaves Paris, Reese escorts him to his plane, where Wax offers a full-time partnership. Reese tells Wax that he needs to go back to his apartment to take care of some things, but Wax informs him that it's already been dealt with. Wax, knowing the real reason Reese wanted to go back to his apartment, gives him 3 miniature pictures of Reese and Caroline, saying that it's 'something to remember her by'. 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 Wax welcomes him to the club as his partner.

Cast

Reception

The film has received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 38% with an average score of 4.80/10. The site’s critical consensus states, "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." [2] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave it 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." [3] A couple of reviews from SBS and Newshub criticised the film for "ludicrous" plot developments and racism. [4] [5]

Box office

The film opened in the US on February 5, 2010, and took $8,158,860 on its opening weekend, ranked number 3 in the charts in 2,722 theaters. The movie was open in the US until March 11, 2010, a total of 5 weeks. Its final US domestic gross was $24,077,427. [1] It also grossed $28,753,524 internationally for a worldwide total of $52,830,951- just grossing back its $52m budget. In July 2010, Parade Magazine listed the film as number 4 on its list of "Biggest Box Office Flops of 2010 (So Far)." [6]

DVD

The movie was released on DVD in the US on June 8, 2010, and sold 624,791 units for a gross of $11,085,323. It was the third-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.

Potential 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." [7]

As of April 2022, there has been no further information on the proposed sequel.

Related Research Articles

<i>Léon: The Professional</i> 1994 film by Luc Besson

Léon: The Professional is a 1994 English-language French action-thriller film written and directed by Luc Besson. It stars Jean Reno and Gary Oldman, and features the film debut of Natalie Portman. The plot centers on Léon (Reno), a professional hitman who reluctantly takes in twelve-year-old Mathilda Lando (Portman) after her family is murdered by corrupt Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Norman Stansfield (Oldman). Léon and Mathilda form an unusual relationship as she becomes his protégée and learns the hitman's trade. The film was released in France by Gaumont through Gaumont Buena Vista International on 14 September 1994 and received mostly positive reviews from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luc Besson</span> French filmmaker (born 1959)

Luc Paul Maurice Besson is a French filmmaker. He directed or produced the films Subway (1985), The Big Blue (1988), and La Femme Nikita (1990). Associated with the Cinéma du look film movement, he has been nominated for a César Award for Best Director and Best Picture for his films Léon: The Professional (1994) and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). He won Best Director and Best French Director for his sci-fi action film The Fifth Element (1997). He wrote and directed the sci-fi action film Lucy (2014) and the space opera film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017).

<i>The Fifth Element</i> 1997 film by Luc Besson

The Fifth Element is a 1997 English-language French science fiction action film conceived and directed by Luc Besson, as well as co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, and Chris Tucker. Primarily set in the 23rd century, the film's central plot involves the survival of planet Earth, which becomes the responsibility of Korben Dallas (Willis), a taxicab driver and former special forces major, after a young woman (Jovovich) falls into his cab. To accomplish this, Dallas joins forces with her to recover four mystical stones essential for the defence of Earth against the impending attack of a malevolent cosmic entity.

<i>Point of No Return</i> (1993 film) 1993 American film

Point of No Return is a 1993 American action film directed by John Badham and starring Bridget Fonda and Gabriel Byrne. It is a remake of Luc Besson's 1990 film La Femme Nikita.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Parillaud</span> French actress (born 1960)

Anne Parillaud is a French actress who has been active since 1977. She is best known internationally for playing the title character in Luc Besson's film La Femme Nikita.

<i>La Femme Nikita</i> (film) 1990 Franco-Italian action thriller film by Luc Besson

La Femme Nikita, also called Nikita in France, is a 1990 French-language action thriller film written and directed by Luc Besson. The film stars Anne Parillaud as the title character, a criminal who is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering policemen during an armed pharmacy robbery. Her government handlers fake her death and recruit her as a professional assassin. After intense training, she starts a career as a killer, where she struggles to balance her work with her personal life. She shows talent at this and her career progresses until a mission in an embassy goes awry.

<i>Look Whos Talking</i> 1989 film by Amy Heckerling

Look Who's Talking is a 1989 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling, and starring John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. The film concerns the relationship between single mother Mollie (Alley) and her infant son Mikey's babysitter, James (Travolta). Bruce Willis provides the voice of Mikey's precocious thoughts, heard only by the audience. The film also features Olympia Dukakis, George Segal and Abe Vigoda in supporting roles. Produced by M.C.E.G. Productions, Inc. and released on October 13, 1989 by Tri-Star Pictures, the film received mixed reviews from critics. Nevertheless, it was an enormous box office success, grossing $297 million worldwide on its budget of $7.5 million.

<i>Look Whos Talking Too</i> 1990 film by Amy Heckerling

Look Who's Talking Too is a 1990 American romantic comedy film, a sequel to Look Who's Talking, and the second installment in the titular franchise. The film was directed by Amy Heckerling from a script she co-authored with Neal Israel. The film stars the original cast members John Travolta and Kirstie Alley as James and Mollie Ubriacco, the parents of Mikey, a toddler coping with the newest addition to the family, baby Julie.

<i>Staying Alive</i> (1983 film) 1983 film by Sylvester Stallone

Staying Alive is a 1983 American dance drama film and the sequel to Saturday Night Fever (1977). The film was directed by Sylvester Stallone, who co-produced and co-wrote the film with original Fever producer Robert Stigwood, and writer Norman Wexler. Staying Alive stars John Travolta, reprising his Saturday Night Fever role as Tony Manero, with Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Joyce Hyser, Julie Bovasso, Viktor Manoel and Kevyn Morrow.

<i>Arthur and the Minimoys</i> (film) 2006 film by Luc Besson

Arthur and the Minimoys is a 2006 English-language French live-action/animated fantasy film directed and co-written by French filmmaker Luc Besson. It is based on the first two books of the Arthur children's books series, Arthur and the Minimoys and Arthur and the Forbidden City, by Besson.

<i>Taken</i> (film) 2008 film by Pierre Morel

Taken is a 2008 French action-thriller film directed by Pierre Morel and written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, Jon Gries, David Warshofsky, Katie Cassidy, Holly Valance and Famke Janssen. In the film, Bryan Mills, an ex-CIA officer, sets to track down his teenage daughter Kim and her best friend Amanda after they are kidnapped by Albanian human trafficking terrorists while travelling in France during a vacation.

Alexandra Boyd is a British actress, director, screenwriter and producer. Her acting credits include Clarissa Mason in Coronation Street and Sarah Olmsted in Mr Holland's Opus. In recent years she has turned to screenwriting and film directing. She wrote and directed her debut feature Widow's Walk which debuted on Amazon Prime in December 2019.

<i>Remember Me</i> (2010 film) 2010 American film

Remember Me is a 2010 American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Allen Coulter and written by Will Fetters. It stars Robert Pattinson, Emilie de Ravin, Chris Cooper, Lena Olin, and Pierce Brosnan. The film received mixed to unfavorable reviews from critics, with much of the criticism centered on its twist ending which divided audiences.

<i>Colombiana</i> 2011 film by Olivier Megaton

Colombiana is a 2011 French English-language action thriller film co-written and produced by Luc Besson and directed by Olivier Megaton. The film stars Zoe Saldaña with supporting roles by Michael Vartan, Cliff Curtis, Lennie James, Callum Blue, and Jordi Mollà. The film is about Cataleya, a nine-year-old girl in Colombia whose family is killed by a drug lord. Fifteen years later, a grown Cataleya seeks her revenge.

<i>Lockout</i> (film) 2012 French film

Lockout is a 2012 English-language French science fiction action film directed by James Mather and Stephen Saint Leger from a script written by Mather, Saint Leger, and Luc Besson. It stars Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Vincent Regan, Joe Gilgun, Lennie James and Peter Stormare. The film marks the feature directorial debut for both Mather and Saint Leger. The plot follows Snow (Pearce), a man framed for a crime he did not commit, who is offered his freedom in exchange for rescuing the President's daughter Emilie (Grace) from the orbital prison MS One, which has been taken over by its inmates, led by Alex (Regan) and his psychotic brother Hydell (Gilgun).

<i>3 Days to Kill</i> 2014 international action thriller film by McG

3 Days to Kill is a 2014 action thriller film directed by McG and written by Luc Besson and Adi Hasak. It stars Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld, Connie Nielsen, Richard Sammel, and Eriq Ebouaney. It was released on 21 February 2014, received mixed reviews, and grossed $52.6 million against its $28 million budget.

<i>Lucy</i> (2014 film) 2014 French science fiction action film

Lucy is a 2014 English-language French science fiction action film written and directed by Luc Besson for his company EuropaCorp, and produced by his wife, Virginie Besson-Silla. It was shot in Taipei, Paris, and New York City. It stars Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Choi Min-sik, and Amr Waked. Johansson portrays Lucy, a woman who gains psychokinetic abilities when a nootropic, psychedelic drug is absorbed into her bloodstream.

<i>Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets</i> 2017 film by Luc Besson

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a 2017 space opera film written and directed by Luc Besson, and produced by his wife, Virginie Besson-Silla. It is based on the French science fiction comics series Valérian and Laureline, written by Pierre Christin, illustrated by Jean-Claude Mézières, and published by Dargaud. It stars Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne as Valerian and Laureline, respectively, with Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu and Rutger Hauer in supporting roles. Besson independently financed and personally funded the film. With a production budget of around $223 million, it is both the most expensive European and the most expensive independent film ever made.

Taxi is a series of French comedy films, created by screenwriter and producer Luc Besson, consisting of five films primarily set in Marseille. In addition, an American-French remake of the 1998 original was made in 2004 and titled Taxi. In 2014 an American-French TV series called Taxi Brooklyn also aired.

<i>Anna</i> (2019 feature film) 2019 film by Luc Besson

Anna is a 2019 action thriller film written, produced and directed by Luc Besson. The film stars Sasha Luss as the eponymous assassin, alongside Luke Evans, Cillian Murphy, Helen Mirren, and Alexander Petrov.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "From Paris With Love". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  2. ↑ From Paris With Love, February 5, 2010, retrieved July 28, 2023
  3. ↑ Travers, Peter (February 5, 2010). "From Paris with Love : Review". Rolling Stone . Wenner Media. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2010.
  4. ↑ "From Paris with Love Review". SBS Movies. February 8, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  5. ↑ "From Paris with Love review". Newshub . Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  6. ↑ "10 Biggest Box Office Flops of 2010 (So Far)". Parade Magazine. July 19, 2010.
  7. ↑ John Travolta interview: Wants a sequel to 'Paris'. NJ.com . Retrieved 2010-10-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.