Rating: 
Summary: New York's Finest Film
Review: French filmmaker Luc Besson chose a brilliant cast to star in Leon/The Professional. Jean Reno, Danny Aiello, Gary Oldman and Natalie Portman deliver a performance that stands beyond words. Reno stars as Leon, a hitman (cleaner) who is excellent at his trade. He is strong, quick and always alert. He lives alone and has no interests other than looking after his plant and watching old movies in empty theatres. When a little girl named Mathilda (Portman) knocks on his door in a desperate situation she can't get out of, his life is about to change. From here on, the pair learn from each other and develop a strong relationship. This is Natalie Portman's debut film. If Besson hadn't have chosen her, she wouldn't be where she is today. Leon/The Professional is a superb film that proceeds to be effective each time you watch it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hitman and survivor join forces - not an action movie
Review: In "The Professional", Leon (Jean Reno) is a hit man who can go anywhere and kill people without drawing a single bullet. He specializes in walking (almost as if out of walls or thin air)right up to his victims before the killing blow. Nothing about Leon explains why he is so singularly sucessful at the art of breaking, entering and killing and when off duty, we learn that his life is simply a slower version of the death he inflicts on others. He lives in a crumbling Manhattan apartment, sleeping upright and wearing Reno's trademark sunglasses. He has no friends or family and his life boils down to catching old movies in revival houses and caring for his plant. Tony (Danny Aiello), Leon's only contact with the outside world, is also his "agent". When Leon's neighbors are almost entirely killed by a squad of crooked cops led by the thoroughly evil Detective Stansfield (over the top Gary Oldman), the sole survivor of the murdered family, Mathilda (Natalie Portman) runs to Leon for help. Free of both her family and apparently feeling secure from their killers, Mathilda is doubly over-joyed to learn of Leon's special career, and nurtures her own budding dreams of revenge. The two reach an understanding - Mathilda will keep house while Leon trains her in the art of murder. Leon starts her off with a sniper-rifle, educating her on the ethos of assassination - in which expertise is measured by your proximity to your target. (You start with the rifle, but master the art with a knife.) On a deeper level, Leon gives Mathilda something to live for while Mathilda gives Leon somebody to live with. In one classic scene, the two play charades - neither of the two capable of reaching imagery the other can readily understand until Mathilda does Chaplin. Life appears idyllic, considering Leon's bleak surroundings, but that doesn't last long. Probably hoping to wean Mathilda from her dreams of revenge, Leon restrains her impulses, but apparently not enough. When Mathilda goes looking for Stansfield, he ensnares her. Unfortunately, Leon rescues her the only way he knows how - by executing her captors. With the multiple execution of rogue officers by a mysterious Italian hitman who walks right up to his victims coupled with the realization that Mathilda is still alive, Stansfield realizes that he's left unfinished business. Leon, once the hunter, is now the prey."The Professional" is sort of an art-house action flick, like "La Femme Nikita" (which also had Jean Reno playing a hired killer), though it gets very slow in the middle, and even the climax is too long drawn out to speed things up. (commercials for this flick had a shot of a tear-gas rocket in flight across a hallway quickly cuts to a mammoth pillar of fire blowing out the front entrance of Leon's building; two events are really separate, and the action is actually slow in the final blow-out). Natalie Portman is haunting as Mathilda, but she clues us in that something is wrong with her before her family is gunned down (she wears trashy clothes and cuts classes; when intercepting a call from school, Mathilda answers back that she's been killed). Still, the film works on the bond that the childlike Leon forges with the pre-adolescent Mathilda, underscoring a poignant closing.
Rating: 
Summary: A Masterpiece!
Review: I thought the edited version was good... I can't believe how much cool stuff was cut out. This extended version is so much better than the edited version, it's not even funny. The story line flows alot smoother and you get a better feel for who the characters are. I highly recommend this version over the edited version. In my humble opinion it's worth the extra expense. This is now one of the prize DVD's in my collection.
Rating:
Summary: Sting and Björk sings !
Review: i forgot to mention about the soundtrack - AMAZING!... the movie itself is a huge success and backing it up is an amazing soundtrack feat. Sting's Shape Of My Heart [i've never heard this song until i saw the movie and i picked up my guitar right away and tried figuring out the chords because it's a bloody awesome song] and Björk's Venus As A Boy [off Björk's debut album. WOW!...]. sorry for sounding like a bimbo with an unproductive review but what i'm trying to say is : THE MUSIC IN THE MOVIE IS BRILLIANT. so that's reason no. 3945 for you to watch the movie. Eric Serra has done it again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: This DVD has a lot of extra footage not in the original movie. It's a better movie than the other version. I loved that movie and I love this version even more.
Rating:
Summary: This movie belongs to Natalie!
Review: Packed with tons of action, drama, humor, and an odd romantic twist, this movie has become an instant favorite of mine. The only real reason I wanted to see this was because this was Natalie Portman's first movie. What I found out was that it is her best movie, which makes it her movie. She immediately steals the show with her natural charm and wit. Of course, Jean Reno did an excellent job as well, but if Miss Portman had not played his 12-year-old sidekick, the movie couldn't have done without. The special bond that grows between the two makes this movie worth a thousand whiles.
Rating:
Summary: A sweet love story.
Review: Yes, it is a love story! I must advise you to buy the international version so you may experience the real movie. Much that is important is left out of the movie we in the US were given. Censors are funny, did they think we couldn't handle the full movie? It is a very sweet and sad story, funny as well. Luc Besson loves the bitter-sweet and has a great sense of somewhat strange humour which I love. Mr. Reno is in top form in this one, fans will love it. If you don't know of him, this movie is a good introduction. Mr. Oldman is always so good at playing a maniac and the girl is sweet. This movie is one of my favourites.
Rating:
Summary: Better than ever
Review: If you think you have seen this movie by watching the U.S. version you are wrong.I loved the U.S. version.But put the two films side by side and the uncut version blows it away.Get it,it's worth twice the price.
Rating:
Summary: Luc Besson is the man!
Review: This movie was awesome. Everyone must have LEON - THE PROFESSIONAL. This is my third favorite Besson film.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Few Suspense Films w/ Unique Characters and Plot
Review: The Professional is a movie about a hit man named Leon who takes a little girl under his wing after her entire family is murdered. Leon (played by Jean Reno) is an amazingly complex character. He has a good heart, and refuses to kill women or children under any circumstances. The little girl makes Leon's life much more fun, but also puts him in grave danger when she decides to avenge her family's death. I loved this movie because the characters were so realistic, and yet so unordinary. You'll be surprised to see yourself loving and respecting someone who kills for a living.
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