. It stars Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as James Reece, a straight-laced young CIA operative bored with working at the embassy in Paris and itching to get some field work. Unfortunately, his first opportunity comes in the form of picking up loose-cannon super-agent, Charlie Wax (John Travolta), at the airport, where he's stirring up problems with customs. After getting Wax out of trouble, Reece finds himself dragged from one location to another, being forced to take coke, hanging out with hookers, and getting caught up in various shoot'em ups. In form, it's very similar to Taken, which was about a one-man wrecking crew making his way through Paris one dead guy at a time. The only differences are that instead of a solemn Liam Neeson, it stars a gleeful and over-the-top John Travolta; and instead of going after human trafficking thugs, he's going after terrorists and drug dealers.
The Flaws: It's a bit campy in places, especially where Travolta's clownishness, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers' awful American accent, and the director's penchant for flashy action sequences overlap (a room full of mannequins, really?). It's short on meaningful plot -- you're guaranteed not to really understand anything that happens in the first half of the movie.
The Draws: Though some find Travolta's balls-out, crazy-eyed performance to be a drawback, I find it to be a plus. If you enjoyed Travolta's performances in Face Off
or Broken Arrow
, you'll be pleased. Not only do you get to see him joke about a Royale with Cheese (oh sweet nostalgia) and making light of the movie's high body count ("How many did we kill today? About one an hour?"), but he also actually has a couple good fight scenes. Jack Bauer-style ass kicking.
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