Chattanooga Pulse

The career of John Travolta has been one of singular contrasts.  From the dimwitted Sweathog of the classic Welcome Back, Kotter, to the dangerous strutting dance machine of Saturday Night Fever, through the family-friendly days of the “Look Who’s Talking” movies, to the career resurgence at the hands of Quentin Tarantino, on through a series of films where he chewed scenery as one of Hollywood’s favorite go-to bad guys, he’s truly run the gamut of film roles.

There are times when one wonders, though, if Travolta misses his good-guy roles, which is likely why he signed on to star in writer Luc Besson’s latest action-thriller From Paris With Love. He gets to vamp on-screen with the bad-guy bald head and goatee look while playing a trigger-happy, wisecracking, loose-cannon federal agent intent on stopping a terrorist attack.

What’s nice about both Besson’s script and Travolta’s acting is that audiences are never quite sure whether Travolta is on the side of angels or demons.  And that is the true strength of Travolta’s current career.

The fact that he can keep audiences guessing has become catnip to screenwriters. And while “Paris” has all the requisite elements of a big-budget action flick—huge set pieces, comedic interplay, formulaic storylines—there are enough twists and turns to keep audiences intrigued through the third act.

Will it be popular enough to dethrone James Cameron’s seemingly unstoppable Avatar?  That remains to be seen, but if anyone could tear audiences aware from Pandora, at least for a weekend, it would likely be the most popular is-he-or-isn’t-he bad-guy actor in Hollywood.

From Paris With Love
Starring: John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Director: Pierre Morel
Rating: R