From Paris With LoveMovie Reviews

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 42 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 70
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    I am ashamed to admit that this empty-headed, preposterous, possibly evil mlange of gunplay and high-speed car chases on Parisian boulevards is a feel-good movie that produces a buzz. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post | Michael O'Sullivan

    It's a hyper-violent buddy comedy. If you like that sort of thing -- think "Training Day," with laughs -- you'll love this. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen

    Travolta has/is a blast in an action-thriller-comedy that otherwise comes up short. Read full review

  • 50
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    A ''fun trash'' movie that's more trash than fun. Read full review

  • 50
    Variety |

    To his credit, Travolta hams it up with the kind of laissez-faire irony that might have made the film a tongue-in-cheek pleasure, had his attitude extended to the filmmakers. Read full review

  • 50
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    I hasten to say this is not criticism of John Travolta. He succeeds in this movie by essentially acting in a movie of his own. Read full review

  • 38
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    So leaden and obnoxious that it actually makes you long for the John Travolta of "Old Dogs." Read full review

  • 30
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    Still, the action is ponderous too. Mr. Morel is no Kubrick, or Tarantino, just as Mr. Travolta's caricature of John Travolta is no Travolta. Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Holes in the script, overwrought camera work, dialogue that's embarrassing, and a plot device that's obvious 10 minutes into the movie - all these are major problems. Read full review

  • 25
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Has no vital signs at all, just crushing dull repetition that makes one noisy, violent scene play exactly like the last one. Read full review

View more reviews for From Paris With Love on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Disappointing thriller pours on the violence.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this overly elaborate action thriller is filled to the brim with gunfights, blood, and bullet-spraying sequences. It attempts to be more complex than the average shoot-'em-up, but the violence is so unrelenting that it becomes numbing. There's also lots of rough-and-tumble language (including "s--t" and "f--k"), scenes with drug imagery and use, and a sequence in which a man picks up a prostitute and has sex with her (no nudity shown, but plenty of moaning). The movie's political themes oversimplify present-day concerns about security.
  • Families can talk about the violence in this film. Do you feel emotionally affected by watching the gunshots and deaths? How is this experience different from what you would feel like if you saw these things in real life?
  • Charlie Wax appears to perform his duties with little emotional response. Is this necessary in his line of work? What makes him and James similar? Or different? What more relatable jobs require some emotional distance?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Six words: Be careful what you wish for. In this film, a worldly diplomat discovers that not everything is as it seems, and that what he has longed for all his life -- a big promotion -- may not measure up to the dream. But those disappointments pale in comparison to true heartache. Also, the movie's story reinforces the problematic idea that violence is a good problem-solving device.
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: Although neither James nor Charlie is particularly virtuous (nor, really, is anyone in this movie...), they do manage to gain each other’s respect through hard work and loyalty. James manages to find compassion for someone who betrayed him because of love (though he does hurt her, too).
What to watch for
  • violence false4 Violence: Plenty of gunfights, with characters spraying bullets all over the place, their targets slumping on the floor, dead and bloodied. In one scene, people are thrown from great heights and shown hitting the ground. Both good and bad characters train their guns on people at point-blank range, sometimes pulling the trigger. Also lots of explosions, both on purpose and otherwise.
  • sex false3 Sex: A man picks up a prostitute and then proceeds to bed her. There's no nudity, but much moaning is heard. A couple kisses in one scene. The girl strips down and changes clothes while her boyfriend has his back turned.
  • language false4 Language: Abundant and often, including “bitch,” “s--t,” and “f--k" (and variations like "motherf---er"). Also, "goddamn" and "for Christ's sake" used as exclamations.
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: Logos for cars.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Cocaine rains down to the ground after undercover agents shoot up a ceiling; one of them collects it in a vase, from which they later snort small amounts. Also some social drinking.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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