Sunday, July 14, 2013

From Paris With Love - Movie Review

The great thing about this movie was that I never realised, until somewhere near the end, that I had watched it before - and not too long ago. There's a young chap who is an assistant to the US Ambassador in France - but his secret desire is to become a secret agent. He does small jobs for the CIA like bugging the embassies of other countries with bubble gum stuck under the tables, something which he does with less efficiency than a school kid who would have got it to stick in a minute and in a manner that the bubble gum would never come off.  Having established that we are not dealing with the brightest chap here we are now shown that he has a girlfriend who is too good to be true - and all antennae normally need to go up.

Big assignment coming up with Mr. Charlie Wax, John Travolta, who comes from the US to single handedly look into a drug gang from Pakistan which indirectly led to the death of some big shot's niece. Of course Mr. Wax is more than enough for everyone in France, Pakistan, and the rest of the world put together - Mr. Inefficient associate soon finds that out. We also find out that the girlfriend is the one who has set it all up - why, we don't know - but she has. The big plan of the drug dealers - to blow up some delegation from the US in some conference for reasons unknown. In a scene inspired by 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron' surely, the young betrayed lover seeks to find his lady love turned suicide bomber in a sea of orange burkhas, and he does. In a sad ending he puts a bullet in her forehead when he sees her wrapped up in explosives meant to blow up the delegation. How she got in despite all the security, don't ask.

I got the first doubt that I had seen this movie when I saw the scene when Mr. Wax eats his cheese burger. It reminded me of something, long ago (and not a cheese burger because I never ate one). My second doubt came when Mr. Wax puts a bullet in his new friend's head once he knows that she is a Pakistani spy. Very cool that was. Then when Mr. Wax eats his second cheese burger just before the end my suspicions were confirmed. I had seen this movie before. But it takes great skill to make such movies that you forget that you saw it at all till the end. 'From Paris With Love' is not a love story. It's got more action (as in real action) than a Bond movie so watch it if you like stunts. You can watch it many times without realising that you saw it before. That's the biggest plus.

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