{Nikita}
 Tagline: Sie tötet. Um zu leben. (She murders. So she can live.) Internationally acclaimed director Luc Besson delivers the action-packed story of Nikita (Anne Parillaud), a ruthless street junkie whose killer instincts could make her the perfect weapon, in this French film that was remade as Point of No Return in the U.S. Recruited against her will into a secret government organization, Nikita is broken and transformed into a sexy, sophisticated "lethal weapon." Storyline: Nikita est très jeune, elle a vingt ans, mais elle a emprunté une mauvaise voie. Pendant un hold-up avec sa bande, elle tue un policier et est condamnée à la prison à vie. Les services secrets, par contre, lui offrent une voie de sortie : devenir un agent spécial, prêt à tout, à leur service. Nikita accepte et commence ainsi un apprentissage très dur qui concerne non seulement les différents modes de tuer, de prendre la fuite ou de faire face à des situations imprévues, mais aussi la manière de se comporter en femme qui a de la classe, capable de se conduire avec aisance dans tous les milieux. Sous la conduite de Bob, Nikita arrive à freiner son caractère rebelle et à surmonter la terrible épreuve finale. Elle semble être devenue une personne différente et tombe amoureuse. Mais faut-il faire confiance aux services secrets ? Written by Baldinotto da Pistoia Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov, January 25, 2009 Arguably one of the most successful contemporary French thrillers, Luc Besson's "La femme Nikita" (1990) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sony Pictures. The film's terrific visual style, coupled with an unforgettable performance by the enigmatic Anne Parillaud, proved to be a formula few could resist. Region-Free. A gang of junkies breaks into a drugstore but the police arrive and corner them in. All are killed with the exception of a young woman (Anne Parillaud, Innocent Blood). She is arrested and immediately sentenced to death. Before the sentence is carried out, however, the government gives the woman a second chance – they promise to let her live if she agrees to work for them. She does and her death is faked. The woman is instantly locked in a secret facility where she is trained to become an assassin. Three years later, the woman is released with a new identity - Nikita. She is told that when the government needs her services someone would contact her. A charming store clerk, Marco (Jean-Hugues Anglade, 37°2 le matin), falls for Nikita. The two become friends and then lovers. Nikita likes her new life and decides that Marco should never be told about her past. Then, someone contacts Nikita. Even though the action is what attracts many to La femme Nikita, its heavy psychedelic overtones are what transforms it into a terrific film. Additionally, the main characters are intriguingly flawed, at times even weird. Anne Parillaud, who prior to La femme Nikita appeared in Alain Delon's homage to Henri Verneuil La Battant (1983), another unusual crime film, does a spectacular job as the jaded but disturbingly skillful assassin. She is cool, when she needs to be, but also quite unpredictable. Unsurprisingly, La femme Nikita is most effective whenever the French actress goes berserk. The second half of La Femme Nikita is clearly the weaker one. It follows a familiar route and it certainly does not benefit from the psychedelic overtones mentioned earlier. Director Besson introduces all sorts of familiar twists that ultimately negate a lot of what makes his film worth watching. Notable cameos by the enigmatic Jean Reno (Leon) and earlier Jeanne Moreau (Ascenseur pour l'échafaud) add a different type of flavor to the film - Reno is absolutely hilarious as the professional "cleaner"- that further dissolve the weirdness from the opening scenes. I remember when La femme Nikita was first released in European cinemas, many critics were unhappy with the flashy violence it introduced. Obviously, times have changed and what was once perceived as scandalous now seems, more or less, grotesque. Still, it is worth pointing out that La femme Nikita was a much different film nineteen years ago. Director Besson's style also changed a lot. With success came a desire to please rather than to be innovative, and the Frenchman ended up producing some truly disappointing films (Kiss of the Dragon, Wasabi, Taxi, etc). A glimpse of what could have been arrived with the release of Angel-A (2005), but it is certainly obvious now that his best years are behind him. A genre-defining classic, Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita arrives on Blu-ray with spectacular audio and video. Without a doubt, this is the best the film has ever looked, and I urge you to consider upgrading your SDVDs as the improvements the Blu-ray offers are dramatic. It is a bit unfortunate that there aren't any substantial extras to compliment the excellent presentation but, let's hope that at least some will be added up later on via the BD-Live portal. Regardless, this is a terrific package! Highly Recommended. [CSW] -3.6- This reviewer said it better than I could: La Femme Nikita is one of the finest action movies ever made, yet it goes beyond that to deliver a fully developed, strong yet humanly fragile, fascinating female lead character, masterfully played by the incomparable Anne Parillaud, and provides the audience with an ultimately satisfying and entertaining motion picture experience. I love everything about this movie: the use of color, sound effects, music. Simply incredible. All the performances are first rate, including one from one of my favorite actors, Jean Reno, as The Cleaner. The cinematography doesn't get any better than this, and the sound and image quality on this Blu-ray are superior. Luc Besson, the director, makes movies for people who love to watch movies, and I, for one, am so thankful he does.[V4.0-A4.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box Cast Notes: Anne Parillaud (Nikita), Marc Duret (Rico), Patrick Fontana (Coyotte), Alain Lathière (Zap), Laura Chéron (La punk), Jacques Boudet (Le pharmacien), Helene Aligier (La pharmacienne), Pierre-Alain de Garrigues (Flic pharmacie), Patrick Pérez (Flic pharmacie), [as Patrick Perez]), Bruno Randon (Flic pharmacie), Vincent Skimenti (Flic pharmacie), Roland Blanche (Flic interrogatoire), Joseph Teruel (Stagiaire flic), Jacques Disses (Avocat), Stéphane Fey (Président tribunal [as Stephane Fey]). IMDb Rating (02/15/17): 8.1/10 from 221,758 users Top 250: #216 IMDb Rating (11/29/16): 8.4/10 from 60,486 users Top 250: #94
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