Synopsis: An intelligence operative partners with a wisecracking, fast-shooting U.S. agent who’s been sent to Paris to stop a terrorist attack.
Release Date: February 19, 2010 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Action,
Film Review
Ahhh, an action buddy flick with panache. The quintessential pairing of an odd couple, to an extreme, is what we find in this film. On a mission that is never clear, with a plan that may as well be hatched out of a mad mans brain, Wax (John Travolta) and Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) make their way through the story by shooting, mutilating, and contorting bodies with grandeur. Reece is a mere prop though in comparison to Wax, the true scene stealer and a riot in his antics. Wax can take down six men in a matter of seconds, and come out smiling ready for more. He is the equivalent of a good Cocaine Cowboy, so to speak. A cowboy that will have you laughing over his disregard for political correctness and inability to hold back any thought or idea that may come into his mind. Travolta appears to delight in playing Wax on screen and the enjoyment he is feeling radiates to the viewer. Wax is a man who loves what he does, and we love him all the more for how he does it; with robustness. The movie has the action to sustain itself, enough intrigue and mystery to keep us wanting more, and an all around comical infrastructure that makes an action movie, and this one in particular, a pleasant diversion.
Rapid cuts with guns blazing, characters moving from one place to another, as your eye focuses just long enough to catch what happened before it is transported to another space, another POV, all to bring together action sequences that excite and enthrall you at every turn. To pull this off it takes great editing, and great editing is what Frederic Thoraval has achieved.
Shoot, bang, explode, crash, run, fight, dodge, trick, manipulate, beat, trash, etc. You get the picture? The action is abundant.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Pierre Morel
- Producer(s): Adi HasakJohn Travolta (FBI Agent Charlie Wax)
- Screenwriter(s): Jonathan Rhys Meyers (James Reece/Richard Stevens)Amber Rose Revah (Nichole)
- Story:
- Cast: Frederic ThoravalMichel AbramowiczJacques Bufnoir
- Editor(s):
- Cinematographer: David Buckley
- Production Designer(s):
- Costume Designer:
- Casting Director(s):
- Music Score:
- Music Performed By:
- Country Of Origin: France