Nikita
Release date: 1990-02-21
Votes: 2074
Genres: Action, Thriller
A beautiful felon, sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a policeman, is given a second chance – as a secret political assassin controlled by the government.
Reviews
talisencrw
Upon cinematic release, being fascinated with Bridget Fonda, I watched 'Point of No Return', which I enjoyed but had no idea it was based on Besson's film. Badham's work was okay in my books, but nothing spectacular. Over the years I had loved those films of his I had seen ('Leon: The Professional', 'The Fifth Element', 'The Family' and 'Lucy'), and decided I wanted to see his earlier classic. I like the fact that Besson always has some hand in the writing, and the exquisite and graceful small part he wrote for acting legend Jeanne Moreau, virtually a microcosm of everything splendid she had ever brought to the screen. Besson has a very good feel for the genres his films represent--he plays to his strengths, and is not afraid to stick to his guns (for example, I'm glad he chose the ending that he did). The two significant extras on my DVD, remarking on the making of the film, and the sound selections by scorer Eric Serra, were both informative and entertaining, and added significant value. I highly recommend the experience to those who only think of 'The Fifth Element' when they think of Luc's work--you're in for a real treat...
Filipe Manuel Neto
**One of the most striking films in Luc Besson's work.** This is perhaps one of the most iconic films in the cinematographic work of Luc Besson, who is one of those directors who are hardly consensual or pleases everyone, but has an undeniable talent. The story revolves around a rebellious girl who becomes involved in a crime and the death of a police officer. Arrested, she seems completely out of control, is violent and seems to hate everyone who speaks to her. What happens next is perhaps the most poorly explained twist in the entire film: someone has the idea of faking her death in prison and taking her, against her will, to a spy training center run by the French government. Between a rock and a hard place, she has no option but to become a highly trained assassin. The film is quite good, if we exclude the first half hour, which is quite surreal and in which the events are very underwritten. Luc Besson, who directed and wrote the script, is very good, but he didn't know how to put that young woman in a situation where she actually had to become a professional spy. Besides, why her? What was so special about her that she was forcibly selected for something so sensitive and where cold blood is so essential? In any case, from the moment he does this, the film runs smoothly and glides effortlessly until the end. Anne Parillaud is good enough for the role and gives it what she needed, but she is not at all an attractive or sensual woman, as the film tries to sell, showing her with barely any clothes on whenever she can. Jean Reno does a very good job, although short, which seems like a rehearsal for what the actor will do later, in “Léon”. Marc Duret and Patrick Fontana gave life to the two main actors in a very correct and committed way. On a technical level, I would highlight the effects, discreet but effective, and the choice of sets and filming locations. Personally, I hated the soundtrack, but that was a problem in other Besson films, not just this one. It seems that the director has a particular taste for soundtracks that seem to be taken from cheap erotic films.
Movie Recommendation
Subway1985-04-10Fred, a raffish safe blower, takes refuge in the Paris Metro after being chased by the henchmen of a shady businessman from whom he has just stolen some documents. While hiding out in the back rooms and conduits of the Metro, Fred encounters a subterranean society of eccentric characters and petty criminals.More...
The Big Blue1988-05-10Two men answer the call of the ocean in this romantic fantasy-adventure. Jacques and Enzo are a pair of friends who have been close since childhood, and who share a passion for the dangerous sport of free diving. Professional diver Jacques opted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who died at sea when Jacques was a boy; to the bewilderment of scientists, Jacques harbors a remarkable ability to adjust his heart rate and breathing pattern in the water, so that his vital signs more closely resemble that of dolphins than men. As Enzo persuades a reluctant Jacques to compete against him in a free diving contest -- determining who can dive deeper and longer without scuba gear -- Jacques meets Johana, a beautiful insurance investigator from America, and he finds that he must choose between his love for her and his love of the sea.More...
The Corsican File2004-10-06Jack Palmer is a Paris-based detective with a huge ego. Ange Leoni is a rebel native of Corsica whose location can't be pinned down by even the most dogged of detectives. Approached by an obscure, small-time attorney and charged with the seemingly simple task of locating the missing Leoni, gifted gumshoe Palmer accepts the job under the assumption that it will be the easiest money of his professional career. But this superstar sleuth is about to find out just how mistaken he was...More...
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc1999-10-27In 1429, a French teenager stood before her King with a message she claimed came from God; that she would defeat the world's greatest army and liberate her country from its political and religious turmoil. As she reclaims God's diminished kingdom, this courageous young woman has various amazing victories until her violent and untimely death.More...
Scenic Route2013-08-23Stranded on an isolated desert road, two life-long friends fight for survival as their already strained relationship spirals into knife-wielding madness.More...
My Best Friend2006-12-06Catherine refuses to believe that her business partner, the unlikeable François, has a best friend, so she challenges him to set up an introduction. Scrambling to find someone willing to pose as his best pal, François enlists the services of a charming taxi driver to play the part.More...
Raining Cats and Frogs2003-12-03It's a catastrophe! A flood has hit our planet and an unusual group of people are all that remains. Led by Ferdinand, a modern day Noah, this little group have managed to defy the furiously raging elements. People and animals alike are dragged through this incredible whirlpool of an adventure.More...
The Last Battle1983-04-06The plot explores the devastation of civilization and issues of brutality, hostility and isolation. Pierre Jolivet stars as the main character (identified only as "The Man" in the end credits) who is menaced by "The Brute" (played by Jean Reno) on his journey through a world filled by people rendered nearly mute by some unknown incident.More...
Jungle Fever1991-06-07A successful and married black man contemplates having an affair with a white girl from work. He's quite rightly worried that the racial difference would make an already taboo relationship even worse.More...
Girlfight2000-05-01Diana Guzman begins to train as a boxer and achieves impressive success, blazing new trails for female boxers, all while keeping it a secret from her father.More...
Brotherhood2016-09-02First there was Kidulthood then Adulthood now comes Noel Clarkes last installment brotherhood With Sam facing up to the new world he realizes it also comes with new problems and new challenges that he must face that he knows will require old friends to help him survive new dangers.More...
My Father the Hero1991-10-23Veronique, living with her divorced mother, is going on holiday to Mauritius with her father. To impress a local boy, Benjamin, she manages to complicate the situation by making up stories about her father. She presents him as her lover, a mercenary and even a secret agent which gets her into trouble and then her father has to start playing along...More...
The Marquis2011-03-09Thomas Gardesse, a traveling alarm systems salesman, is arrested for a minor offense and sentenced to six months imprisonment. To win the respect of his fellow inmates, he claims he is "The Marquis," a brilliant robber whose identity has remained a mystery. Two weeks before his release, an armed robber named Quentin Tasseau helps him escape and takes him to Manila so he can take part in a robbery whose mastermind requires the talents of the Marquis.More...
Tumbledown2016-02-12A young woman struggles to move on with her life after the death of her husband, an acclaimed folk singer, when a brash New York writer forces her to confront her loss and the ambiguous circumstances of his death.More...
Perdiamoci di vista1994-01-27Comic tale of a cynical TV star's slow-combustion romance with a young paraplegic.More...
Nitro Circus: The Movie2012-08-08You will see Travis Pastrana and the whole Nitro Circus crew perform some of the most ridiculous, awe-inspiring, and simply insane stunts ever caught on camera. Coming to you in three dimensional glory, it will feel like you are there sitting shotgun with the crew.More...
Auntie Danielle1990-04-04Tatie Danielle is a black comedy about a widow who is intent on ruining the lives of her great-nephew and his wife. Tsilla Chelton plays the title character, who mourns the death of her husband by tormenting everyone she meets. Eventually, she moves in with her nephew and his vain wife. Soon, her family is at war with Tatie, and takes off for Greece, leaving her in the care of Sandrine (Isabelle Nanty), an au pair who is as equally bitter as Tatie herself. At first the two don't get along, yet the two eventually become friends. However, Sandrine is invited to accompany an American student for an overnight stay at the beach, which would leave Tatie alone for a night. Angered, Tatie fires Sandrine, and while she is alone, she goes into deep depression, eventually setting the family's apartment on fire. The fire becomes a national story, with Tatie cast as a poor old lady and the family labeled as cruel and heartless villains.More...
Squeak-squeak1963-11-20Léonard Monestier owns a large fortune, alas his wife Cynthia made a bad investment in a worthless oil concession. Far from letting this get him down, Léonard decides to find a sucker to buy this concession from him. Right on cue appears Antoine Brévin, a befuddled billionaire who is very interested in Léonard's beautiful daughter Patricia and would do anything to win her hand...More...
Sister of Mine2017-01-31Oliver, a young film director, discovers on a porn Web site one night that the protagonist of one of the erotic videos is his younger half-sister Aurora. In the process of finding out what she was doing there, Oliver will become fascinated by his sister.More...
Limbo1999-06-04Traumatized by a fishing boat accident many years before, Joe Gastineau has given up his hopes for a life beyond the odd jobs he takes to support himself. That quickly changes when nomadic club singer Donna de Angelo and her troubled teen-age daughter enter Joe’s life. Both mother and daughter fall for Joe, increasing the friction between them. The tension continues to build when Joe invites them on a pleasure cruise up the Alaskan coast, discovering too late that the trip may cost them their lives.More...
Similar Movies
Missing: Keti Harayek...
2025-01-24A gripping tale of two young people from contrasting worlds who are thrust together by a twist of fate. A man from Nepal's Terai plains accidentally abducts a woman from the northern hills, bringing her to his rural village in Janakpur. What begins as a clash of personalities slowly transforms into a journey of shared understanding, bridging deep-seated social and cultural divides.Spider-Man
2002-05-01After being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker is endowed with amazing powers to become the superhero known as Spider-Man.Spider-Man 2
2004-06-25Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can't act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he's loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well...Men in Black
1997-07-02After a police chase with an otherworldly being, a New York City cop is recruited as an agent in a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth: the Men in Black. Agent K and new recruit Agent J find themselves in the middle of a deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies.Men in Black II
2002-07-03Kay and Jay reunite to provide our best, last and only line of defense against a sinister seductress who levels the toughest challenge yet to the MIB's untarnished mission statement – protecting Earth from the scum of the universe. It's been four years since the alien-seeking agents averted an intergalactic disaster of epic proportions. Now it's a race against the clock as Jay must convince Kay – who not only has absolutely no memory of his time spent with the MIB, but is also the only living person left with the expertise to save the galaxy – to reunite with the MIB before the earth submits to ultimate destruction.The Dark Knight
2008-07-16Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.The Terminator
1984-10-26In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?Live and Let Die
1973-06-27James Bond must investigate a mysterious murder case of a British agent in New Orleans. Soon he finds himself up against a gangster boss named Mr. Big.From Russia with Love...
1963-10-10Agent 007 is back in the second installment of the James Bond series, this time battling a secret crime organization known as SPECTRE. Russians Rosa Klebb and Kronsteen are out to snatch a decoding device known as the Lektor, using the ravishing Tatiana to lure Bond into helping them. Bond willingly travels to meet Tatiana in Istanbul, where he must rely on his wits to escape with his life in a series of deadly encounters with the enemy.You Only Live Twice
1967-06-13A mysterious spacecraft captures Russian and American space capsules and brings the two superpowers to the brink of war. James Bond investigates the case in Japan and comes face to face with his archenemy Blofeld.On Her Majesty's Secr...
1969-12-18James Bond tracks his archnemesis, Ernst Blofeld, to a mountaintop retreat in the Swiss alps where he is training an army of beautiful, lethal women. Along the way, Bond falls for Italian contessa Tracy Draco, and marries her in order to get closer to Blofeld.Moonraker
1979-06-26After Drax Industries' Moonraker space shuttle is hijacked, secret agent James Bond is assigned to investigate, traveling to California to meet the company's owner, the mysterious Hugo Drax. With the help of scientist Dr. Holly Goodhead, Bond soon uncovers Drax's nefarious plans for humanity, all the while fending off an old nemesis, Jaws, and venturing to Venice, Rio, the Amazon...and even outer space.A View to a Kill
1985-05-24A newly-developed microchip designed by Zorin Industries for the British Government that can survive the electromagnetic radiation caused by a nuclear explosion has landed in the hands of the KGB. James Bond must find out how and why. His suspicions soon lead him to big industry leader Max Zorin who forms a plan to destroy his only competition in Silicon Valley by triggering a massive earthquake in the San Francisco Bay.The Living Daylights
1987-06-29After a defecting Russian general reveals a plot to assassinate foreign spies, James Bond is assigned a secret mission to dispatch the new head of the KGB to prevent an escalation of tensions between the Soviet Union and the West.Licence to Kill
1989-06-13After capturing the notorious drug lord Franz Sanchez, Bond's close friend and former CIA agent Felix Leiter is left for dead and his wife is murdered. Bond goes rogue and seeks vengeance on those responsible, as he infiltrates Sanchez's organization from the inside.GoldenEye
1995-11-16When a powerful satellite system falls into the hands of Alec Trevelyan, AKA Agent 006, a former ally-turned-enemy, only James Bond can save the world from a dangerous space weapon that -- in one short pulse -- could destroy the earth! As Bond squares off against his former compatriot, he also battles Xenia Onatopp, an assassin who uses pleasure as her ultimate weapon.The Red Rattlesnake
1965-12-21'Agent Number Two' Lee Kwok-wai of the resistance troops Red Rattlesnake sets off for Guangzhou to assist Agent Number One in rescuing their comrade Pang Yau-lan from the puppet army. Lee approaches his former lover Lam Ying-tsi, the mistress and trusted aide of the puppet commander Wong Tai-wai, who has fallen prey to the lip service of the beautiful and smart songstress Pak Lai. Following the vandalism of the arsenal, Pak is quick to point the finger of blame at a spy at work. Lam combs their home for clues and finds Lee's recording devices. Furnishing Lee with misleading information, Lam has Lee and associates arrested. Pak appears to their rescue, revealing herself as Agent Number One. The dauntless spy sabotages the enemy's ammunition and communication network, captures the commander before joining her comrades to celebrate a successful withdrawal. (Synopsis based on audiovisual materials)Mr. & Mrs. Smith
2005-06-07A husband and wife struggle to keep their marriage alive until they realize they are both secretly working as assassins. Now, their respective assignments require them to kill each other.Mission: Impossible
1996-05-22When Ethan Hunt, the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to learn that he's the prime suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.Mission: Impossible I...
2000-05-24With computer genius Luther Stickell at his side and a beautiful thief on his mind, agent Ethan Hunt races across Australia and Spain to stop a former IMF agent from unleashing a genetically engineered biological weapon called Chimera. This mission, should Hunt choose to accept it, plunges him into the center of an international crisis of terrifying magnitude.