Poll Position: Leon the Professional (1994)

Last week we asked you to pick the best assassin movie in the poll. You voted, and the choice was made: Leon the Professional. This was actually one of those films that I had on my personal "must watch" list. I hadn't heard much about it, but I've heard the name come up enough as a positive comparison that I knew it was something special. With that in mind I had pretty high hopes that it would be good, but I wasn't exactly sure what I was in for. Without further adieu, you can find my thoughts after the jump break.


Normally I would jump into a quick story summary here so anyone out there who hasn't seen it can get an idea what it's about. But before I do that, I need to bring up something that caught me off guard the very moment the film started. Now remember, I knew next to nothing about this film going into it. That included the cast, besides Jean Reno. What surprised me was to see Natalie Portman's name fly up onto the screen. I have seen her in so many movie lately it's insane! Black Swan, Thor, Hesher, Your Highness, and not long ago I saw her in Closer as well! I've seen all those movies except for Hesher which is proving to be hard to find still in theaters so it'll have to wait. She just seems to be everywhere all of a sudden, not that that is a bad thing. I quite like her, and Black Swan was possibly my favorite movie of last year. Anyways, there's my mini-rant, now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Leon is the perfect killer. You never know where he's coming from, and if he has your number, than it's safe to assume it's up. Leon isn't all cold steel and death though, as we see he has a soft spot for children as he makes simple conversation with a girl who lives in his apartment building. The girl, Mathilda, has a pretty rough life to say the least. Without giving too much away, Mathilda ends up in the care of Leon, and he must now decide what to do with her. Making matters more complicated, she soon discovers what he does, and requests to be trained. Taking care of a 12-year-old girl is one thing, training her as an assassin, or "cleaner" as they put it, is something else entirely.

Jean Reno towers over a miniature Natalie Portman

There are two things I want to gush about here. The characters, and the cinematography. The character of Leon is fascinating! They set him up as a killer so good at his job, he appears to be nothing more than a shadow... that or Batman. But he's nowhere near just a one dimensional character. He has this kind nature towards kids, but we also see him at the movies, amused to the point that he seems like a child. Then he has the odd habit of only ever drinking milk. We learn he can't read or write, and we also eventually learn about his tragic past. There are just so many facets to him! Not to be totally outdone, but the incredibly young Natalie Portman somehow brings Mathilda to life in a way I don't think I've ever seen a child actor accomplish. I've gotta say though, it sure is weird to see her as a prepubescent young girl. Gary Oldman as the film's "bad guy" is pretty damn unique too, and a great performance.


To say this film is beautiful shot is a massive understatement. I don't think I've seen a movie shot quite like this. Director Luc Besson did a marvelous job bringing the city of New York to life and showing the massive scale of it with long shots down endless city streets. He also doesn't show things in the standard way you might expect. The opening action scene is done so well, and how it seems he just comes out of the shadows and there's nothing else of him but what you can see. Only seeing things in reflections, it's all very well done. There's also an incredibly powerful shot at one point of a gun firing, but all you see is how the muzzle flash lights up the rest of the room. You don't see the gun, you don't see a person, just the light flashing on the walls. It's amazing.

Time for a lesson. Start with rifles, work your way towards the knife. The more professional you get, the closer you can get to your target

The only thing I haven't really mentioned is the action. Don't worry, there's plenty of action that act as sort of bookends to the film, and they're really great! The rest of the film is filled with some really good, if not at times quite awkward dramatic situations between Leon and Mathilda. I can't really recommend this movie enough. Great acting of great characters in a great looking movie filled with great action and drama. This is a no brainer, check out Leon the Professional ASAP! To everyone that voted for Leon in the poll, I thank you will all my heart, this was an awesome movie for the ages!