La Femme Nikita
La Femme Nikita
Convicted felon Nikita isn't going to jail; she's given a new identity and trained, stylishly, as a top secret spy/assassin.
Matthias_812 reviewedApril 2, 2025
Redefining the female assassin genre and leaving a lasting impact Luc Besson's pre-Léon feature showed a promising career early on. Besson brings a polished, almost dreamlike style to the gritty, violent world Nikita inhabits. His use of lighting, color, and framing lends the film a slick style beyond a typical action flick. Anne Parillaud’s performance as Nikita is complex, capturing her character’s toughness, vulnerability, and inner conflict. Her portrayal ensures that Nikita feels like a real person, not just an archetype.
The action scenes are sleek, avoiding excessive explosions or effects in favor of raw, realistic tension. Unlike a standard action piece, La Femme Nikita is as interested in character development as it is in adrenaline, exploring the cost of violence and the struggle to reclaim one's identity in a system designed to erase it.
Besson’s stylish approach, coupled with Parillaud's intense performance, makes La Femme Nikita a gripping work that’s influenced countless films and TV series. I found it starts much greater than it ends but nonetheless this is top tier artful action.