From Paris With Love and Leap Year (From The Oxford Times)

From Paris With Love and Leap Year

6:40am Thursday 25th February 2010 in

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Paris: the city of romantic overtures, fine cuisine, sartorial elegance, and crunching cars chases along the Avenue des Champs-Elysees. Director Pierre Morel returns to the scene of previous cinematic crimes for From Paris With Love, an explosive tour of the capital in the company of two mismatched US agents on a quest to dismantle a terrorist cell.

Morel’s last film, Taken, at least had the good sense to cast Liam Neeson, an actor with gravitas. Here, he’s lumbered with the handsome yet inexpressive Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and John Travolta, an actor who has never been on speaking terms with subtlety and nuance. Ironically, it is Travolta’s voracious scenery-chewing and wide-eyed ravings that are the guilty pleasure of this otherwise dumb action adventure that clumsily pilfers scenes from the Bourne trilogy.

Cast as a renegade US operative with a twitchy trigger finger, the Oscar-nominated star of Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction is the one member of cast to treat Adi Hasak’s script with the disdain it deserves. And, in a cute nod to former glories, his remarkably athletic agent also gets to share his love of local gastronomic delights. “Here, the locals call my vice à Royale with cheese,” he grins, barely resisting an urge to wink at the camera.

Government agent James Reese (Meyers) is desperate to impress the powers that be, and graduate from his current position as an ambassadorial aide. He gets his chance when he is asked to help Charlie Wax (Travolta) pass through Parisian customs and complete his secret anti-terrorism peace mission.

Unexpectedly partnered with a fast-talking stranger who turns out to be a gun-toting lunatic, James struggles to understand what his role in the mission might be as Charlie shoots anyone and everyone in his path.

In the process, James acquires a vase full of cocaine and an incredibly tall tale to impart to his doting, seamstress girlfriend, Carolina (Casia Smutniak).

From Paris With Love is nonsense from lacklustre start to pyrotechnic laden finish, hinging weakly on the non-existent chemistry between the two male leads. Buddy movies demand sharp comic timing, and a clearly defined narrative arc for the characters from distrust and irritation to mutual admiration. Morel’s film has none of these qualities, leaving Travolta to blast each location to smithereens as a spectacularly wooden Rhys Meyers pouts in the background.

The younger man fails to kindle a single spark of sexual attraction to Smutniak, and his pivotal scene, a heartfelt monologue about the power of love, is utterly excruciating.

Our au revoir to James and Charlie cannot come soon enough.

Promoting a stereotypical image of rural Ireland which would make Father Ted and his flock roll their eyes in disbelief and shout, “Begorrah!”, the implausible comedy Leap Year is a sappy road movie that clearly signposts every tiny pothole in the path to true love. Timed for release, predictably, at the end of February, Anand Tucker’s jaunt across the Emerald Isle brings together two strangers – Amy Adams and Matthew Goode – on a hare-brained adventure that ultimately brings them together.