Rating: 
Summary: Watchout - Violent movie w/ Hints of Perversity.
Review: The characters in this movie (so typical of the French) are unusual, whacky, and totally unexpected - basically the story revolves around a lonely hitman who has single relationship with a houseplant until a young girl, trying to escape from a brutal DEA agent (played by Gary Oldman), places herself into his reluctant care. Meantime as their relationship strenghtens the young girl developes a crush on this hitman. While I dont think this is unusual, the reaction of the guy though is perverse. C'mon, she cant be any older than 12! I enjoyed the movie until this disturbing developement in the story. Of course, Gary Oldman's played his usual crazed, maniacal, violent, unpredictable character. PS.. I honestly never thought Natalie Portman could act until I saw her in this movie - very different from her booooring portrayal in the yucky Star Wars prequel.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie
Review: This is one of the best movies i ever saw...
Rating: 
Summary: Professional dollar store shelf lining
Review: The only thing professional about this forced march through artistically lacking wasteland was the acuteness of which it leaves the audience utterly disillusioned and confused. A good shot Reno may be, but a professional hitman he is not. A hitman to such professional degree as the movie tries in hopeless vain to portray him as would not be living in such a dump, nor would he be making such measly salaries for executing the high-profile mob bosses he does. I myself am not a mercinary gun-for-hire, nor do I know any, so maybe I'm way off...but an educated guess would lead me to believe that a world-class crackshot would have to lead a lifestyle a bit more MOBILE. That is, unless, one can make a sniper's living for 30+ years off prospective targets confined to New York City. I suppose Reno has an endless supply of mafia kingpins his boss wants dead, right? What's with the plants? This guy's career path lands him commiting murder after bloody murder, but he gets home and all his suppressed emotions just pour out into home gardening? Nor could I easily overlook ... Reno's twisted, perverted "love affair" with Natalie Portman (how old is she again? Twelve?) is sick. At least Kevin Spacey in "American Beauty" fell for a high school senior. And Reno teaching Portman how to use a sniper rifle in the middle of Central Park? Anyone notice this going on? Anyone see Portman shooting paintballs at some nameless but seemingly important man who just happens to be walking through the park surrounded by bodyguards? This is New York City, not Mogadishu. Yawn.....anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, the movie is stupid and unbelievable. If you're into grown men lusting grade school girls though, this is right up your alley.
Rating:
Summary: He Does It For Mathilda
Review: Leon (Jean Reno) drinks only milk -- it is healthy and good for his stomach. Leon needs his strength. Leon is a 'cleaner' -- a professional hit man. Leon's twelve-year-old neighbor Mathilda (Natalie Portman) purchases milk for Leon. One afternoon Mathilda hides at Leon's apartment after returning from the grocer's. Mathilda's parents' apartment has been raided by a DEA squad led by popper-energized Special Agent Stansfield (Gary Oldman). Mathilda's father has been holding narcotics for Stansfield and the narcotics that Mathilda's father returned are cut with milk sugar. Stanfield's squad demolishes Mathilda's parents' apartment and murders everybody in the apartment including Mathilda's four-year-old brother. Stansfield's squad finds the missing narcotics, but they miss finding Mathilda. With misgivings Leon harbors Mathilda. Mathilda wants revenge for her four-year-old brother's murder. Mathilda learns that Leon is a cleaner and convinces Leon to teach her 'cleaning skills'. Too early Mathilda borrows several handguns and goes after Stansfield at the Federal Building. Mathilda gets caught ... French writer/director Luc Besson ("La Femme Nikita") has produced *a masterpiece* set in New York City. The film's only flaw is a long range sniper's rifle that also shoots paintballs. Character development for Leon and Mathilda is superb -- Leon is a professional killer but a naive man, while Mathilda is both childish and streetwise. The cast provide great performances and Eric Serra's score reinforces the film's drama. Luc Besson and Jean Reno set the standard for this genre with "The Professional".
Rating:
Summary: An absolute favorite
Review: Saw it in the movie house, liked it so much I showed it to my family in VHS, then in LD, now in DVD. This international version is longer than the previous ones I've seen, with some scenes that were deemed too controversial for the US theatrical release. You know what this means to me? It means I get to view this beautiful movie half an hour longer. I don't mind the added minutes at all. The story of an illiterate professional killer who drinks milk and whose only friends were a potted plant and later an orphaned girl still grips me to this day like no other. In this movie, in my book at least, Luc Besson and Jean Reno become transfigured into Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. They become gods of cinema. That's the best way to describe it for me. And Natalie Portman, here in just her first feature role, is wonderfully poised, graceful and talented for an 11-year old. Too bad she met George Lucas later in her career. I went in the movie house expecting an action thriller. I got that too, but walked away with much much more. I went home knowing I've just seen a true work of art. Many years later, in DVD, the magic is still there.
Rating:
Summary: Uncut version the best
Review: This is a great movie. I had seen this movie awhile ago, but it was the cut version. Some of the scenes missing were with regards to the relationship between the hit man and the girl. Seeing this uncut version really made the movie better, allowing us to view more of how their relationship developed. The pacing was really superb in that I liked the action sequences, but I was also enthralled by the slower moments. We get to see a master of his craft at work, and then we also get to see his softer side in how he takes in the little girl, and tries to adjust his life around her. All in all, a great mix of action and story that kept me watching and highly interested all the way through. The basic plot is how a hit man takes in a little girl after her family is killed by a corrupt police unit, and how the two of them create a sort of quasi-family. The corrupt police unit, led by Gary Oldman, discover that they didn't eliminate they entire family, and that there is a possible witness to their crime, start to search for the little girl, while the hit man and the little girl keep on the move to stay ahead of these dangerous men. Finally, the corrupt police unit catches up with them, and then begins the violent climax to the movie. This is obviously an abreiviated synopsis of the movie, but I don't want to give any of it away. If you like action movies with heart and a good story, buy this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: I can't really explain why I like this movie so much, but perhaps it's Jean Reno as an ... Italian assassin. Plus the extra footage that was taken out for the American release is actually meaningful (not an extra 10 mins of them walking in a park or something). Also the relationship between Natalie Portman's character and Jean Reno's is very interesting. It could be seen simply as a guy protecting a helpless young girl and child's infatuation for a cool older guy, but it has this eerie-ness to it that you just can't shake. I really like that. If you've never seen the movie before, you should definitely check this movie out. If you've seen the American version and liked it, definitely get this one -- the extra footage is well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: BEAUTIFUL!
Review: Touching Drama that had me crying more than once! Natalie Portman is adorable! Jean Reno is BRILLIANT! Gary Oldman is evil!
Wonderfully scripted, brilliantly directed. This is one of my all-time favorites! =^..^=
Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest!!!!
Review: This movie is by far one of the most incredible movies I've seen. It intense, alive, and beautiful. Terrific acting and the storyline was amazing. I've never seen any movie like this. This movie climbed to the top and has mastered its genre with ease.
Rating:
Summary: AN EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT THRILLER
Review: I caught this film on cable the other night and decided to watch it because it featured a terrific cast. How can one resist a movie featuring sexy Frenchman Jean Reno, the beautiful Natalie Portman in one of her earliest roles, Gary Oldman, and Danny Aiello? The film centers around the relationship that develops between a beautiful and precocious twelve year old girl, Mathilda (Natalie Portman), and an Italian hit man named Leon (Jean Reno). Mathilda and her family live in the same run down building as Leon and are, in fact, neighbors. It seems that Mathilda's dad (Michael Badalucco) has run into a problem with rogue Federal Drug Enforcement Agent Stansfield (Gary Oldman) over some missing cocaine. When Stansfield and his crew gets into a shootout with dear old Dad in the family apartment, wiping out her family, Mathilda alone survives. When Stansfield realizes, however, that there were three children in the family and only two are accounted for among the dead, he knows that he has to hunt her down before she denounces him for what he is, a cold blooded, killer cop. Mathilda turns to Leon for help in her rather precarious situation. Of the two, Leon and Mathilda, it is hard to decide who is the more innocent. Leon gets his hit contracts through an intermediary, a wise guy named Tony (Danny Aiello). Tony always assures Leon that he is holding all his earnings for him, as Leon cannot read and write. Leon is your quintessential killer with a heart of gold. Mathilda, on the other hand, though still a child, is a pretty wily little miss with nerves of steel. It would be difficult to pull the wool over her eyes. Together, however, Leon and Mathilda go on a voyage of discovery, as each finds in the other something that captures the heart. Notwithstanding this, the film is very much an action film. It is a rip roaring journey, as Leon and Mathilda try to evade Stansfield, the killer cop with no heart and a drug habit that would kill off lesser humans. Some of the situations are absolutely ingenious and a total trip. There is enough action in this film to satisfy even the most jaded of thrill seekers. Luc Besson, the director, has turned out a top notch, first class thriller. Natalie Portman is luminous as Mathilda, a kid from the school of hard knocks. Her beauty, as well as her acting talent, is evident even at this early stage of her development, and there are a few almost uncomfortable Lolita-like moments in the film. There is even a scene somewhat reminiscent of the rose petal scene in the film "American Beauty", sans the rose petals. Oldman is positively chilling with his almost over the top, edgy, manic performance. Danny Aiello is terrific as Tony, the smooth talking mob guy whom the viewer knows is taking advantage of Leon's simplicity and trust, enriching himself in the process. Jean Reno, however, will melt your heart, becoming an almost mythic, romantic hero. I have to wonder why this amazing, sexy actor never made it really big in the United States. He is sensational as the killer with a heart. He also has some high voltage action scenes in this highly stylized film that will take your breath away. An uncut international version of this film with an additional twenty four minutes of footage has recently been released on DVD. It is listed on my Amazon[.com] wish list where I hope my children will find it and take a hint. It is definitely a film worth adding to one's personal collection. Bravo!
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