"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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September 12, 2006:
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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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