Z/Web

Director: Pierre Morrel

This is an action buddy movie with a strong French influence with the story being written by one of my favorite directors Luc Besson (“The Professional”) and directed by the guy who did last year’s fun Taken. It’s set in Paris, though other than the occasional snippet of French language and a brief scene at the Eiffel tower, the location’s really irrelevant. Even the key car chase scenes could be on any freeway. Like most buddy films this pairs up two opposites: in this case, a wannabe spy who’s an intellectual and an older pro who’s more action-oriented. But one aspect of this pairing I found refreshing is that these two sort of like each other. Usually in films like this there’s genuine animosity and anger, and sitting through two hours of such negative emotion is depressing. This was much more pleasant. There’s still conflict, but it’s more about the different ways these two think about a problem and they don’t fight much. I liked that a lot. John Travolta’s character as the veteran is hilarious and outrageous and he gives a fantastic performance. He keeps doing insane things, shooting people seemingly at random, but then reveals it’s all part of his clever plan. Excellent. His partner’s character in comparison is rather dull (which is the point, as he’s a bureaucrat that wants to be a spy) and I didn’t find him too engaging. Travolta’s what makes the film work. In terms of story, there isn’t much of one. Sure, the two are awkwardly paired together to stop a terrorist threat, but the “big twist” toward the end is so obvious I saw it in the first five minutes. Fortunately, though, the predictability of the plot doesn’t ruin the film. It’s still a fun action film (pretty much entirely due to Travolta’s character). It’s also only 90 minutes and like Taken, goes non-stop once things get going. It’s not a deep film by any means, or even a great one, but it’s definitely fun, silly, and outrageous, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.