Nikita: Criada para Matar

This 1989 French film was justifiably so popular that an American re-make followed later and then a cable television series followed after that.

In this - the original - you see "Nikita" at its beginning and, most people agree, at her best. Anne Parillaud, an actress I've always found fascinating, is riveting as the lead character. Jean-Huges Anglade, Tcheky Karyo and Jean Reno provide a very strong supporting cast.

The characters were believable and it was refreshing to see a no-nonsense approach to a murder story, meaning if someone had to be killed, they were shot quickly with no questions asked. Some of the action scenes are brutal.

Parillaud's character is memorable. She can change appearances, from a hard- nosed hysterical animal to a real lady. It's also interesting to see Reno in a familiar role as a "cleaner," a role he made famous four years later in "Leon: The Professional."

The DVD provides either easy-to-read subtitles or a well-done dubbed version. If sound is important to you, you'll hear better stereo with the subtitled version.

Anne Parillaud is phenomenal as a terrifyingly vulnerable, beautiful and human young anti-hero with an incredible talent for violence. A drug-addict murderous teen is given a second chance by a government agency looking to exploit her penchant for conscience-less killing. Mentored by a man whose compassion for her is only matched by his ambition and Machiavellian sadism, Nikita ventures on a roller-coaster ride leading a double-life as assassin and clean-living young woman in love. Her passionate affair with Marco and the clarity of her un-drugged consciousness, combine to promote the development of a conscience - a dangerous thing in her line of work. Nikita is, nevertheless, a victim of her circumstances, and like the rest of the characters on both sides, seems stuck in a very bad situation. In addition to the artistry with which this story is told, this film has a very nihilistic sense of justice and not-so-subtly points out the fact that state authorized murder is still murder.

Jean Reno fans will enjoy his brief typecast cameo as "the cleaner".

This is one of the best, if not the best, of Besson's films. It is extremely well paced, starkly and beautifully shot, and features some of the best acting and writing of the entire action genre. The script is just a little better in French than English. Nikita does not have the feel of an action film, but rather, feels like a fatalistic drama riddled with almost continuous tragedy and heartbreak, and spiced with just a tad of hope. Parillaud's multi-layered and complex construction of her character is so mesmerizing that it is frankly difficult to think of anything else while attempting to reflect on this film.

Exciting and stirring movie that is remade in American style by John Badham (1993) . A gang of armed drug-addicts break into a shop to try and steal drugs to fuel their habit and then takes place a bloody tour of force . However, the police arrive too fast and all addicts but one are killed .The hardened criminal (Anne Parillaud , role subsequently played by Bridget Fonda) , a punk-junkie sociopath acts with consistence violence, even in police custody and is given a life sentence .But after being drugged by her captors she wakes up to find that she has been spared in order to train her as a government assassin . However, top-secret agency official (a Svengali alike ,Tcheky Karyo , character interpreted in the American version by Gabriel Byrne))arranges a stage , so she can be elaborately trained as phantom killer and subdued into obedience. After a dramatic transformation, she is allowed to leave and start a new life for herself .On her eventual release she turns into a sophisticated girl thanks to an old lady (Jeanne Moreau , role also acted by Anne Bancroft) . As a cover, she gets a new identity . And with a wonderful house-mate, a broad-minded, gentle boyfriend (Jean Hugues Anglade , posteriorly performed by Dermot Mulroney) . The two fall in love, but that complicates jobs. His good influence extends to breeding her a conscience that puts love over business, alas unlike agency. However, she begins to discover that there is more to life than she previously thought and soon begins to wish she could escape from her obligation. But the government aren't so easy to evade .

This exciting noir-thriller is packed with thrills , tension , suspense and lots of noisy action .From the start to the ending the action pace is fast moving, provides fast and furious entertainment with spectacular scenes. Displays nonstop action and is extremely entertaining and thrilling . Some scenes are brutal and with a load of violence. Still it's a good movie, I think furthermore the incredible chemistry between Parillaud and Karyo ,the plot was moving and intense , it makes you want to know what happens after . Anne Parillaud is pretty good as the heroine who turns in violent tendencies to patriotic use , both as the anti-social rebel of the early scenes and the sophisticated, seductive young lady of the later ones . It benefits enormously from a memorably assured performances from veteran as Jeanne Moreau , Jean Reno , Philippe Leroy and Jean Bouise whom is dedicated the movie . Atmospheric musical score by Eric Serra , though with excessive use of synthesizer . Colorful cinematography by Thierry Arbogast and perfectly remastered . The motion picture is lavishly produced and well directed by Luc Besson with his ordinary visual pyrotechnics . He often casts Jean Reno and music always by Eric Serra. Besson is the greatest producer and director from France with hits as ¨Leon¨ , ¨Joan of Arc¨ , ¨The fifth element¨ , the ¨Taxi¨ series , ¨Big blue¨ , ¨Arthur and the Minimois¨ , of course ¨Nikita¨ and many others .

"You could say I work...for the government. We've decided to give you another chance."

I've been wanting to see La Femma Nikita for ages, as I used to be quite the fan of the TV show based on it when I was a kid. It's nice to be able to say that the movie was just as exciting and entertaining as I remember the show being.

The plot is about a young drug addict who kills a cop when she and some guys are caught robbing a pharmacy. The French government fakes her death, and she's given little alternative but to join a training program to become an agent in the government's employ. The stress of living a violent life that she doesn't want and having to keep it secret from her fiancé eventually becomes too much for her to cope with.

La Femme Nikita has several impressive action sequences, but it's more than just an action movie. Nikita transforms over the course of the story from a drugged-up junkie with nothing to live for to a capable and dangerous woman who wants control over her own life.

All in all I thought La Femme Nikita was a solid blend of assassination and drama. The heroine is probably one of the most interesting female action protagonists ever put up on the big screen, and it's hard to overstate the impact Nikita has had on other female protagonists in these kinds of movies in the last twenty years. Recommended.

'Josephine' in her little black dress, crouched in a hotel kitchen, HUGE smoking hand-cannon swaying in her delicate little paws, not entirely sure what she's doing......equals my all-time favourite movie poster and an enduring image of a wonderfully crafted, absorbing study of love, penance and obligation. Throw in a funky, pulsing score and you have a modern classic. The film is generally slow-paced save for a couple of genuinely exciting and achingly cool set-pieces and is more an examination of Marie's transformation and rehabilitation than anything else. If you want consistent, high-octane thrills then look elsewhere because this beautiful film packs an emotional rather than physical punch. Anne Parillaud as 'Marie' (Nikita/Josephine) in the lead role is breathtaking and her failure to feature since in any picture of note baffles me. She is the centrepiece of the film: aggressive, fragile, tactile, ugly, beautiful, cold, efficient, she runs the gamut of human emotion and in doing so lingers on as one of the most complex and memorable female characters in recent movie history. Time is a central character here; much as in Gaspar Noe's 'Irreversible' it is all-powerful and destroys everything, good and bad. It's passage is portrayed regularly, symbolic of Marie's simultaneous progress and rehabilitation. The lighting here is also effective, giving the film an almost washed-out feel. Hollywood again take note, this is a REAL film about love and pain of the most excruciating kind: of having no control, identity or direction and hurting those about whom you care the most. A must-see.