Travolta plays action hero in `Paris'
| ot;The Tudors," "Match Point") likely has some fans somewhere, but his pasty, hollow-cheeked look has always seemed more model than actor. But even his defenders would acknowledge he is not quite action movie material.
That need not be an impediment; the fish-out-of-water is a standby of many a thriller. But in "From Paris With Love," his character, though inexperienced, quickly adapts to the carnage. (He does blink for one pseudo-poetic moment of reflection in front of a mirror.) Reese, it turns out, is a tough, too. Contrary to his manicured appearance, he boasts that he is from a hard New York neighborhood. One foresees South Bronx crowds cackling in the theaters. Having more fun is Travolta. With a shaved head, a thick goatee, an earring and a leather coat with an upturned collar draped by a scarf, he resembles a biker from Soho. He throws himself fully into the film, but it never feels like anything more than action movie dress-up. "From Paris with Love," a Lionsgate release, is rated R for bloody violence throughout, drug content, pervasive language and brief sexuality. Running time: 95 minutes. One star out of four. |