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IMDbPro

Nom de code: Nina

Original title: Point of No Return
  • 1993
  • 12
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
31K
YOUR RATING
Bridget Fonda in Nom de code: Nina (1993)
Home Video Trailer from Warner Home Video
Play trailer1:55
1 Video
99+ Photos
SpyActionCrimeDramaThriller

A government fakes the death of a criminal to turn this young woman into a killer on its service.A government fakes the death of a criminal to turn this young woman into a killer on its service.A government fakes the death of a criminal to turn this young woman into a killer on its service.

  • Director
    • John Badham
  • Writers
    • Luc Besson
    • Robert Getchell
    • Alexandra Seros
  • Stars
    • Bridget Fonda
    • Gabriel Byrne
    • Dermot Mulroney
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    31K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Badham
    • Writers
      • Luc Besson
      • Robert Getchell
      • Alexandra Seros
    • Stars
      • Bridget Fonda
      • Gabriel Byrne
      • Dermot Mulroney
    • 152User reviews
    • 37Critic reviews
    • 53Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Point of No Return
    Trailer 1:55
    Point of No Return

    Photos234

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    Top cast75

    Edit
    Bridget Fonda
    Bridget Fonda
    • Maggie
    Gabriel Byrne
    Gabriel Byrne
    • Bob
    Dermot Mulroney
    Dermot Mulroney
    • J.P.
    Miguel Ferrer
    Miguel Ferrer
    • Kaufman
    Anne Bancroft
    Anne Bancroft
    • Amanda
    Olivia d'Abo
    Olivia d'Abo
    • Angela
    Richard Romanus
    Richard Romanus
    • Fahd Bahktiar
    Harvey Keitel
    Harvey Keitel
    • Victor the Cleaner
    Lorraine Toussaint
    Lorraine Toussaint
    • Beth
    Geoffrey Lewis
    Geoffrey Lewis
    • Drugstore Owner
    Mic Rodgers
    Mic Rodgers
    • Cop
    Michael Rapaport
    Michael Rapaport
    • Big Stan
    Ray Oriel
    • Burt
    Spike McClure
    • Johnny D
    Lieux Dressler
    Lieux Dressler
    • Johnny's Mom
    John Capodice
    John Capodice
    • Detective
    Carmen Zapata
    Carmen Zapata
    • Judge
    Calvin Levels
    Calvin Levels
    • Computer Instructor
    • Director
      • John Badham
    • Writers
      • Luc Besson
      • Robert Getchell
      • Alexandra Seros
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews152

    6.131.3K
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    Featured reviews

    cjekin

    An excellent example of Hollywood's ability to ruin a good movie concept.

    An excellent example of Hollywood's ability to ruin a good movie concept. The original version ('La Femme Nikita') was far more gritty and realistic. The main character is offered a choice between death, or the life of an assassin. As such, she spends most of the film trying to find a way out of her situation. Unfortunately the overuse of high-tech props, sets and special effects have made the entire experience so sanitised that by the end of the film I found myself wishing that a corrupt government would come and kidnap me.
    dustinjhogan

    Superb acting and cinematography let this Nikita remake shine.

    I've never seen the French film, Nikita, on which this is based, but it sounds superb. What drew me into this film was the presentation of the story, which focuses less on her as a professional killer and more on her humanity. In the French film, Nikita looks very forceful and aggressive. Fonda in "Point" seems more sensitive and feminine. I'm just going to have to see the French one. I'm not easy to impress and this film drew me in. Nikita must be awesome.

    BRIDGET FONDA has a face one can just stare at for hours. It's a restrained performance. She plays a very conflicted character full of paradox. A proposal from her lover cause tears to well up in her eyes as she peers down the scope of her rifle at her latest target. She manages to keep a straight face when her friend is killed in front of her. She even manages a smile and says, "I never did mind about the little things." Fonda has such talent that she's able to portray pure calm with every muscle in her face while her eyes swim in terror and heartbreak.

    HARVEY KEITEL is Victor, the Cleaner. His face is a stone. No smiles, frowns, or grimaces. He is heartless and emotionless. As he kills, his face remains stone cold. He says no unnecessary words. His answers are short, to the point. Superb. His performance is understated brilliance.

    GABRIEL BYRNE has a knack for making his characters believable. He's harsh, yet sympathetic. He alone makes this movie worth watching.
    7JamesHitchcock

    Loses Little in Translation

    "Point of No Return", or "The Assassin" as it is known here in Britain, is, of course, a remake of Luc Besson's French thriller "Nikita", and keeps closely to the plot of the original, although the action is transferred from France to America. Some of the names, such as Victor or Amande/Amanda, are the same as, or very close to, those used in the original film, although the name of the main character is changed from Nikita to Maggie. (Besson had, for reasons best known to himself, given his heroine a masculine Russian Christian name).

    Like Nikita, Maggie is a criminal and drug addict who murders a policeman during a raid on a pharmacy, a crime for which she is sentenced to death. The sentence is, apparently, carried out soon after the trial, but in reality Maggie's life is spared. (The film-makers ignore the fact that in America any death sentence is automatically subject to a lengthy series of appeals and reviews; in California, where the film is set, only thirteen people, out of nearly seven hundred sentenced to death, have been executed during the last thirty years). She is given the option of being trained to work for the Government as a professional assassin; if she refuses she will be killed and buried beneath the tombstone which already bears her name.

    Roger Ebert compares Maggie to a modern-day Eliza Dolittle, the heroine of Shaw's "Pygmalion". This may seem an odd comparison, given the nature of the work Maggie is being trained to do, but it is in fact an apt one. The modern assassin must master not only martial arts, weapons skills and computer technology but also such matters as deportment, polite conversation, fine dining and the art of looking beautiful. The rationale is presumably that, as Maggie may be called upon to kill members of America's high society, she needs to know how to behave in their company. The tuition she receives is obviously effective; Maggie enters her charm school with the social graces of an alley-cat and leaves with those of a débutante. For all her poise and glamour, however, she also has the skills of a ruthless killer.

    The Government resettle Maggie in Venice Beach where she poses, under an assumed name, as an IT consultant and finds a boyfriend. Occasionally, however, she is called upon to take out a target whom the Government want dead, either by delivering a bomb to their hotel room or shooting them dead in the street. At first she is happy to go along with their instructions, but begins to develop a conscience about what she is doing, and wants to leave her job.

    The idea of remaking a modern foreign-language film in English and with an American setting was anathema to many purists, particularly to those (on both sides of the Atlantic) who see Europe as the home of High Culture and America as a land of vulgar Philistines who are too lazy to bother with reading subtitles. This, however, was a view which I found unfair, as "Nikita" did not lose much, if anything, in translation when it was remade. Contrary to what some might think, not every French or European film is an art-house classic; Besson's was a commercial thriller which was itself influenced by American models, especially neo-noir. Film noir, as the name might suggest, has always been appreciated in the French cinema; the influence of Besson's model on John Badham's film might be seen as France's repayment of its debt to America.

    Moreover, "The Assassin" has many virtues in its own right. It makes effective use of music; there is a memorable score from Hans Zimmer, possibly influenced by David Hentschel's music for "Educating Rita". The soundtrack also features several songs by Nina Simone, a particular passion of Maggie's. (This seemed a rather conservative taste for a young woman of her generation, but the explanation is that Maggie's enthusiasm derives from her mother).

    Bridget Fonda (who has clearly inherited the classic good looks of her Auntie Jane) is very good as the heroine, both as the anti-social rebel of the early scenes and the sophisticated, seductive young lady of the later ones. There are effective cameos from Anne Bancroft as Amanda, Maggie's tutor in the social arts, and from Harvey Keitel as Victor the Cleaner, the ruthless, deadpan killer called in to "clean up" when one of her jobs unexpectedly goes wrong. There is a larger contribution from Gabriel Byrne as Maggie's handler, Bob, a key role as the relationship between the two is a complicated one. At first Bob is only able to handle her by making veiled (and sometimes open) threats about what will happen if she does not co-operate, but later he grows close to her, almost like a substitute father. (She passes him off to her boyfriend as her uncle). He is sympathetic to her desire to leave her job, but his hands are tied by the attitude of his superiors.

    As a thriller, "The Assassin" is a fast-paced and exciting one, but it may also have a deeper significance as a critique of the death penalty. Maggie's development parallels that of Burt Lancaster's character Robert Stroud in "The Birdman of Alcatraz", who also starts off as a vicious, conscienceless killer and gradually grows in humanity There is an obvious irony in the fact that she is sentenced to death for murder and that her life is then spared so that she may commit further murders on behalf of the State that has sentenced her. The further irony is that it is her career as an assassin which teaches her the value of human life. 7/10
    6kahnwiley-839-496081

    A carbon copy in English

    This movie is pretty much a shot-for-shot remake of the French film "La Femme Nikita" by Luc Besson. I'll say right off the bat that I strongly suggest watching that one instead, since they are virtually indistinguishable but this one is just a clone, a (not so cheap) imitation.

    As with many foreign films that are remade for American audiences (like "Let the Right One In," "Funny Games," or "Infernal Affairs"), I'm often left feeling hollow after viewing both versions. The original was, well, original, which is why it gained international acclaim at the time, opening doors to Luc Besson for productions like "Leon" and "The Fifth Element." With this Americanized repeat, there's nothing added, no extra twist, no real reason to remake a perfectly good first film, other than the fact that Americans don't like to read subtitles. It's no wonder Luc Besson refused the offer to direct; seems pretty boring for an artist to make the exact same movie again within five years of the first.

    Don't get me wrong, it's a perfectly watchable film, but I'm not liable to give it any credit beyond that since the whole thing was lifted from a movie made only a few years before this. Bridget Fonda is solid, and makes the transition from despicable junkie to government assassin pretty believable. Gabriel Byrne, of course, does well in his role, but I think this character has a very limited range compared to that of which he is capable. Dermot Mulroney is easy on the eyes but his character is not particularly memorable.

    Good action, a little romance, and Bridget Fonda kicking ass. Plus a small role for Harvey Keitel at his peak, fresh off of "Reservoir Dogs" and "Bad Lieutenant." The shootouts are pretty par for the 90's, with squibs exploding everywhere and the usual shots of the protagonist diving through the air in slow motion. At the time, the role-reversal of having a female spy/assassin as the lead was pretty unique, but nowadays, of course, that is not so uncommon at all.

    Summary: totally watchable, but totally unnecessary.
    FlorisV

    What a disappointment!

    This movie is also called The Assassin. I have never seen the original, Nikita, from Luc Besson, but I was looking for it, instead I stumbled on this film in the rental store and it turned out to be a remake. I thought, with Bridget Fonda as a gunslinging babe, plus Gabriel Byrne and Harvey Keitel in the supporting cast, and in the director's chair John Badham, of Wargames, Bird on a Wire and The Hard Way fame, what can go wrong? Everything!

    The camerawork is plain mediocre and not any action scene seems to have any choreography, the whole movie lacks style and elegance while it should have those above everything else. I think, if it would have been a good movie, every scene would have been either very thrilling and exciting to watch or involving. The scene with the arrest in the beginning and the training scenes could have been so much better with a little imagination. The same for the other "action" scenes. The whole movie is very uninspired and a huge waste of talent. For those who like the chix-with-guns genre, which still seems a bit underused, I recommend The Long Kiss Goodnight with Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson which is far superior and has a better plot to boot. Or if you want to see a really good film with Bridget Fonda go watch A Simple Plan.

    I give this film 4 out of 10 because it had so much more potential. Were it a B-movie I had been more forgiving, but it wasn't. It was, however, executed as badly as a B-movie.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Bridget Fonda was cast after Jodie Foster and Winona Ryder turned down the lead role.
    • Goofs
      Bob's recollection of the location of Maggie's plot in the cemetery is inconsistent. He first said "Plot 48, row 12" and later: "Row 48, plot 12"
    • Quotes

      Maggie: I never did mind about the little things.

    • Alternate versions
      Because the original version was rated "Not under 18" in Germany, the film had to be cut to receive a "Not under 16" rating for video release and television broadcast. All scenes in which Victor kills somebody with his pistol were cut out. Also some fighting scenes with Maggie were shortened.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Point of No Return/CB4/Fire in the Sky/Barbarians at the Gate/Il Lardo Di Bambini (1993)
    • Soundtracks
      Wild Is the Wind
      Written by Ned Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin

      Performed by Nina Simone

      Courtesy of Polygram Special Markets, a division of Polygram Group Distribution, Inc.

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    FAQ17

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 14, 1993 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • The Assassin
    • Filming locations
      • Bourbon Street, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
    • Production companies
      • Warner Bros.
      • Art Linson Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $30,038,362
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $7,160,389
      • Mar 21, 1993
    • Gross worldwide
      • $30,038,362
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 49m(109 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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