Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita (1990)

It's hard to review a film which has been imitated more than any other film in the past twenty-five years. We have all heard the name Luc Besson, whether it's in relation to Leon, The Fifth Element, or The Transporter series. La Femme Nikita, or simply Nikita, as it's referred to in France, was not his first directorial effort, but it remains his most famous, even in the wake of Jean Reno and Natalie Portman's wonderful Leon. The film spawned an American remake, a hit television show and countless imitations that are still produced to this day. The femme fatale, the female assassin, the notion of a beautiful killer who is ice-cold and vulnerable all at once: this is Nikita.

I'm afraid that those who watch it for the first time will be underwhelmed by both the concept and the action, but they must not forget that this film was the pioneer of the genre. Nikita is a psychotic junkie and we first meet her as she executes a cop from point-blank range. In the next scene she stabs a detective with a pencil. After being condemned to die by the state she wakes up in a mysterious warehouse where she spends the next three years of her life training as an assassin. When finally released, she is regarded as the ultimate weapon by her superiors. A killing machine to serve her country. But did anyone stop and think how she might feel about all of this?

La Femme Nikita includes several harrowing action sequences and the style of the film, right down to the cinematography and music, are vintage Besson. This is an action picture, and therefore I will not mention the acting except to say that it is just good. Anne Parillaud does a great job of making Nikita a character that the audience can sympathize with and root for; no small task considering her vile introduction. Jean Reno also has a small role as a master assassin and fans of Leon will be in heaven during his short amount of screen time. Kudos must be given to Besson for ending the film in a very unconventional manner, which while frustrating to some, is a fittingly open-ended finale to the film that started an entire genre. 3.5 out of 5 stars.