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 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 37
Fresh: 27
Rotten:10
Average Rating: 6.7/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 13 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
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... [More]
Starring: Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, Gary Oldman, Danny Aiello
Director: Luc Besson
Reviews for Léon the Professional
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
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November 23, 2007:
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This week, Timothy Olyphant stars in Hitman, the tale of a skilled contract killer who finds himself in the midst of deadly political intrigue. Here at RT, we thought it would... More...
January 17, 2007:
Olyphant Pursues "Hitman" Contract
Timothy Olyphant has been linked to the movie based on the "Hitman" video game, though he says there is no official contract, pun intended. He's in talks though, and... More...
September 12, 2006:
Director Luc Besson Gives Up Camera for Civic Projects
Director Luc Besson tells the Associated Press that "Arthur et Les Minimoys" (Arthur and the Invisibles), which will open Jan 12, 2007 in the States, is his last movie... More...
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