Reno's performance of hangdog loyalty lends his character pleasing sympathy while Besson's heavily stylized direction builds tension around sexy violence.
Comment
04/09/08
Léon the Professional (1994)
73 %
Reviews Counted: 37 Fresh: 27 Rotten:10 Average Rating: 6.7/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 13 mins
Synopsis: Leon (Jean Reno) is a precise, calculating hit man--a consummate professional, with no family and no friends. However, he has casually befriended Mathilda (Natalie Portman, in an auspicious debut), a 12 year-old neighbor whose entire family, including her adored 4-year-old brother, is... [More]
Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, Gary Oldman, Danny Aiello, Peter Appel
Reviews
Top Critic
Oozing style, wit and confidence from every sprocket, and offering a dizzyingly, fresh perspective on the Big Apple that only Besson could bring, this is, in a word, wonderful.
09/26/07
Top Critic
Besson fails to make much of New York's visual potential, and lazily asks that Leon's expertise be taken on trust. The shallowness was to be expected; the slackness is surprising.
02/09/06
Top Critic
Top Critic
Luc Besson is a masterly director of stylish, thrilling, and humorous action set pieces, and this film's bravura opening and closing sequences are two of the year's best.
09/26/07
Top Critic
The Professional is much too sentimental to sound shockingly amoral in the least. Even in a finale of extravagant violence, it manages to be maudlin.
08/30/04
Top Critic
Despite Besson's mastery of technique, Leon's success is due in large part to its elegant performances.
09/25/03
Good, if not overrated. Reno is always a delight and a young Portman adds a lot to the heart and soul of the film.
08/30/03
Luc Besson's lone-hitman thriller sees a 12 year-old Natalie Portman push the boundaries of love and peodophilia. As emotionally complex as it is a slick action thrill-ride. Even Gary Oldman gets in on the action as a Beethoven loving, drug-taking crooked
02/13/03
Related Forums
The Professional 2
by: blastomatoe 3/15
by: blastomatoe 3/15
News
Total Recall: The 10 Most Corrupt Cops in Movies
posted by Sara Schieron April 09, 2008
In honor of David Ayer's Street Kings we did a little bad-to-worse survey of the boys who soil their blue. Some of them are...
posted by Sara Schieron April 09, 2008
In honor of David Ayer's Street Kings we did a little bad-to-worse survey of the boys who soil their blue. Some of them are...
Total Recall: Thank Goodness For Hit Men
posted by RT Staff November 23, 2007
This week, Timothy Olyphant stars in Hitman, the tale of a skilled contract killer who finds himself in the midst of ...
posted by RT Staff November 23, 2007
This week, Timothy Olyphant stars in Hitman, the tale of a skilled contract killer who finds himself in the midst of ...
Olyphant Pursues "Hitman" Contract
posted by Fred Topel January 17, 2007
Timothy Olyphant has been linked to the movie based on the "Hitman" video game, though he says there is no...
posted by Fred Topel January 17, 2007
Timothy Olyphant has been linked to the movie based on the "Hitman" video game, though he says there is no...
Director Luc Besson Gives Up Camera for Civic Projects
posted by Binh Ngo September 12, 2006
Director Luc Besson tells the Associated Press that "Arthur et Les Minimoys" (Arthur and the Invisibles),...
posted by Binh Ngo September 12, 2006
Director Luc Besson tells the Associated Press that "Arthur et Les Minimoys" (Arthur and the Invisibles),...
Around the Network
• Léon the Professional at Rotten Tomatoes
IGN RSS Feeds