"Leon The Professional" is a consummate hit man movie from the early '90s era in cinema when every young filmmaker wanted to be the next Tarantino. Luc Besson just had to be himself.
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05/16/09
Léon the Professional (1994)
74
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:38
Fresh:28
Rotten:10
Average Rating:6.7/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 13 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: Leon (Jean Reno) is a precise, calculating hit man--a consummate professional, with no family and no friends. However, he has casually befriended Mathilda (Natalie Portman, in an auspicious debut),... [More]
Starring: Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, Gary Oldman, Danny Aiello
Director: Luc Besson
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Reviews for Léon the Professional
Reno's performance of hangdog loyalty lends his character pleasing sympathy while Besson's heavily stylized direction builds tension around sexy violence.
04/09/08
For the most part, The Professional is a great action picture.
11/15/07
Oozing style, wit and confidence from every sprocket, and offering a dizzyingly, fresh perspective on the Big Apple that only Besson could bring, this is, in a word, wonderful.
09/26/07
A naive fairy tale splattered with blood.
09/26/07
Top CriticLuc Besson is a masterly director of stylish, thrilling, and humorous action set pieces, and this film's bravura opening and closing sequences are two of the year's best.
09/26/07
Ultimately seems at once too deranged and too mechanical.
09/26/07
Top CriticThere's conviction in this movie, and intelligence.
09/24/07
Besson fails to make much of New York's visual potential, and lazily asks that Leon's expertise be taken on trust. The shallowness was to be expected; the slackness is surprising.
02/09/06
The Professional is much too sentimental to sound shockingly amoral in the least. Even in a finale of extravagant violence, it manages to be maudlin.
08/30/04
Top CriticNo review available.
07/08/04
After a dazzling opening sequence, this one goes downhill fast.
01/01/04
No review available.
11/20/03
Despite Besson's mastery of technique, Leon's success is due in large part to its elegant performances.
09/25/03
Good, if not overrated. Reno is always a delight and a young Portman adds a lot to the heart and soul of the film.
08/30/03
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05/20/03
No review available.
04/09/03
No review available.
02/14/03
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January 17, 2007:
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September 12, 2006:
Director Luc Besson Gives Up Camera for Civic Projects
Director Luc Besson tells the Associated Press that "Arthur et Les Minimoys" (Arthur and the Invisibles), which will open Jan 12, 2007 in the States, is his last movie... More...
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