I am hopefully going to rent this movie soon, and I am just wondering how it compares to Leon, mostly in terms of action. Leon could easily be my favorite movie of all time, with some of the most original and unique action I have ever seen, along with the best love story I've seen in a movie. So I'm asking if Besson was as on top of his game with this one as he was with Leon.
You're obviously not a golfer...
I will not say La Femme Nikita is a better film, Leon is one of my favorite movies of all time. But Nikita is also great, and the action scene are good, but nothing special compared to Leon. You should definetly rent this movie though, bacause it`s a greta piece of filmmaking. And the music are fantastic.
(sorry for my bad english)
In my opinion Nikita is very similar to Leon, the only difference is that Nikita is filmed in more "European" way, and Leon is more American. Both films are ingenious, however, if you are not accustomed with European style, you may be sometimes distracted by it. I recommend both of them.
shareWell, I just finished watching it, and I must say that I do not fully get it yet. One of those films that needs time to settle in; not just easily acceptable on the first time through. But aren't the best ones always like that? Anyways, I am sure that I like Leon more, actually a great deal more. But I am happy that I watched it, even if it wasn't the over the top action extravaganza that I had been hearing about. Great acting, great music, great, if scarce, action, and an impressively deep and personal take on what could have been a cookie-cutter American action flick. Well done Luc Besson
You're obviously not a golfer...
I watched this because I am a fan of Besson and Leon is one of my favourite movies, was thinking this would be a similar experience, but I have to say I was a little disappointed, the love story didn't really help in my opinion and for someone who murders someone in cold blood at the beginning of the movie she gets far too upset by the violence and murders that happen throughout the movie.
Maybe it was a movie more for the ladies?
But when she killed the cop at the beginning, she had taken drugs.
shareYou can't really compare the two, im sorry. I didn't really get caught up in the story, just seemed like an average action drama for me. I loved Leon, and Luc Besson is one of my favorite directors. I guess the acting and plot didn't really bring me into the story, however i was captivated with Leon in five minutes i believe. Hell, the first imagry of the job he had to do was done so well i knew that it would be a spectacular movie.
sharei didnt enjoy this film because the main character was such a bad person (copkiller) i cant enjoy a film or get wound up in the story so much when the plot follows the new life of a killer who doesnt deserve a second chance. (however useful she may be to the government)
just my thoughts...
slewis88 Adolph Hitler was a killer. What do you think of Adolph Hitler ?
share[deleted]
That is probably one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read.. I feel pity for you, if you can't enjoy movies that follow bad people you've missed the majority of good movies..
7years later or not, I had to respond. :P
Leon was a great movie, but it was more like a fairy tale than anything else
Nikita isn't realistic by any stretch, but it's a much darker movie, where hosing down the bad guys isn't really a solution
both are great movies
The reason I think leon even compares to Nikita is the corrupt DEA cop...holy *beep* what a great, over-the-top performance with amazing lines
"I like these quiet little moments before the storm"
"EVERYONEEEEE"
Maybe Nikita is more for women but it was introduced to me by a male friend when it was released years ago! Nikita is one of my favorite Luc Besson films, "Le Grand Bleu" and "Leon" are the others and they are different. Anne is such a force to reckon with it. You need to watch it again!! Did you watch it in French or with English Sub? Because I think you might have missed the fact that there is a 3 year span where she is in the "government house" undergoing training as an assassin by Bob and his crew. As well as getting off drugs for the first time in years. She is a delinquent with no manners or education. She is getting re-assigned and re-educated in all matters which I do not believe she had any previous experience in the first place. What Besson is trying to show us is that she had killer instincts being a street kid and a drug user with no conscience. She didn’t give a crap how she got the drugs as long as she got them. Afterwards, she is out and clean and conscious for the first time in her adult life. She still has the same instincts but she is clean and there is no need for violence anymore, it is a controlled situation she is in. Not chaotic and wanting to get high and trash any place or kill anyone. She is no longer numb. Then she meets Marco and they both fall for each other. What is heart wrenching is that she knows unconditional love for the first time in her life, Marco loves her for who she is even though she can not reveal any of her past to him, he just accepts her and cherishes her. She has seen another side of life which suits her now, she understand that there is good and a safe place in this world, she doesn’t want to add to it by killing again. It is very sad because she has to leave Marco in order to get away from Bob. I loved it at the end when Marco says to Bob that she had written him a note with the papers from the embassy but he has burnt the note!
Peace
Aeos
which action scenes would that be? Leon had more and better than this love fest
shareThe main difference is that Léon is a great movie but Nikita sucks.
shareHmmm, I'm considering renting/downloading it soon too... AND Leon is my favorite movie of all time...
shareI have seen this movie for the sake of Luc Besson and expected a similar experience like Leon.
This movie WOULD suck, but it doesn't. It has "Leon" in it and those moments were really what made me to REALLY enjoy this movie.
So if you like Leon, definitely see this film. It worths it.
I'm a big fan of both movies. Personally I think Leon is slightly better, simply because it's perfected what was done in Nikita and added several new elements. But definately watch Nikita, if just for that brilliant restaurant sequence.
Wild! I was absolutely Livid!
i agree with mr stark
it was a good movie, but never comes close to Leon!
There were some good action sequences, but i think the story wasnt as gripping as Leons.
I gave Leon 10/10 and Nikita 7/10
Long is the way And hard, that out of Hell leads up to light.
I think Nikita is a far better film. Leon is full of over-the-top, clichéd characters (Gary Oldman especially), whereas Nikita, at least when it came out, was fresh and exciting, taking French cinema into a reasonably new arena. Personally, I think Nikita is Besson's best work and that it has a maturity to it that Leon just doesn't.
Nikita 7/10
Leon 5/10
It was fun to see that there actually is a guy called Léon in Nikita (though it probably is a very commen french name). And also that we see Jean Reno as a character extremely similar to the one in Leon. It must really have inspired Luc Besson.
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Both "Leon" and "Nikita" are very different movies, I think. The thing is, both these movies are very character driven. If you don't like Nikita's character, then you won't like the movie. If you don't like Mathilda or Leon, then you won't like that movie (maybe just for the action, you may like it) Both are great films if you like to see characters develop and change.... but the two movies are different because "Leon" most certainly is more pulse pounding, whereas "nikita" doesn't really have an overload of highly choreographed action sequences like "Leon" did.
I saw "Leon" before I saw "Nikita", and "Leon" is one of my absolute favorite films, but just watch this movie without expecting it to be just like Leon.... I really do love both films, but ust take Nikita for what it is and I think anyone can enjoy this film, as it really is a marvelous story.
I think tou cannot compare this two movie... It isn't because it's the same director that movie are similars. It's two great story, that's all !
shareAgree. Nikita's story is more original than Leon's. Leon's, by the other side, is pure virtuose work. Leon is "simply" a remake of "the beauty and the beast" theme, magnifically done, ok, but just it. It is a virtuoso work.
Nikita was pretty the same story: the beast reverts to be a "normal" person, who falls in love and takes consciousness that murder and violence are not the only ways to "enjoy life"... and that becomes scared, arises a concience... but in doing so, it creates the idea of an organization that does what it does, and I think that is original. More than that, Nikita shows the paradox to become "a good and a normal person" THROUGH her training as a cold assassin. This is a deeper thought than Leon's.
Probably, Leon is technically better, but Nikita is a must, too.
I have to go with Leon, if only because I had real difficulty buying into the Nikita character. OK, so we start with a waifish, teen drug addict, cop killer.
She's clearly unbalanced and doesn't show any potential at anything other that throwing violent tantrums. Some agency looks at this hot mess and says, "Hey, with a little work, we've got James Bond!" So they warehouse her, teach her some judo, art, MS Paint, and how to apply makeup, and "Voila! We have our wetworks expert!" No montage of her learning spycraft or deception, just a scene at the shooting range. Then she's given some guns and released on society with no clear objective. Seriously? It's like Zoolander without all the really, really good-looking people.
I've only seen both movies once but Leon was my favorite by a good margin. La Femme Nikita just didn't strike me as anything outstanding, though I thought it was alright. Maybe I just need to watch it again a year or two from now to fully "get it".
shareboth good films but remember seeing Nikita a good few years before Leon and it really stuck in my mind a lot more. Maybe because I saw it first and Leon was very similar if a bit more schmaltzy. Thought Nikita being a woman was a unique take and Anne Parrilaud very believable in the role.
shareI think Leon is better. Both are entertaining, but Leon is a stronger film if you compare the two.
Stuff like this reminds me of "Movie Poop Shoot.com" from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
I'd like to think Victor IS Leon. You see, what if, Victor never died in that car? In the movie Leon, his mentor, Tony, said to him: Don't ever get involved with a girl, remember what happened back in Europe? All that sh it I had to dig you out of? That girl could have been Nikita. Well, in the extended/original, Leon says it was a farmer's daughter he loved who belonged to the mob or something. But I thought it could be a stretch.
"LEON" IS SOOOOO MUCH BETTER!
sharewell i just got done seeing "Nikita" (1990) for the first time a few minutes ago (keep in mind i seen "Leon The Professional" a few years ago or so for the first time. i seen this movie many times to) ... it was pretty good and the subtitles did not bother me as much as i thought they would ;)
if your a fan of Leon i would say see this film ;) (as he (Leon) is sorta in this film to even though technically he aint playing the "leon" character, he looks pretty damn similar ;) )
bottom line =...
-Leon The Professional (1994) = 10/10. (one of my very top movies, i cant pick just one movie as my favorite (like movies in general) but if i had to this might be it ;) ... Leon is Luc Besson's MASTERPIECE! ;) )
-La Femme Nikita (1990) = 8/10 (but if i had to choose a 7 or 9 i would say 7). (pretty good and better than the better than average (7/10) movies, although compared to leon it aint even close if you ask me overall as like i said before Leon is one of my very best movies... but i came into this movie EXPECTING it to be worse than Leon so i was not disappointed or anything.)
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on a side note my general rating scale (in simple terms) is like this...
1-4 = horrible (or boooring)
5-6 = OK (low average/average-ish)
7-10 = Great (although 7 is just a little above average. 8 is sorta by itself but quite good (basically in simple terms, clearly above average). 9's and 10's i reserve for my very best films)
Besson experiments with a lot of the elements seen in Leon in Nikita. Leon is almost like a finished product; Nikita is the model still in development. Nikita just lacks the polish and luster that Leon has. Nikita isn't a bad film; in fact it's a decent film as long as you can keep track of what's going on.
Any ship can be a minesweeper. Once.
I go back and forth about which I like better. Leon has more breathtaking action sequences, but I think I like the character arc in La Femme Nikita a bit more-The post by aeosrules sums it up very well I think.
shareNikita has a completely different theme to it than Leon. Both are wonderful and special in their own ways. Both sont magnifique!
shareEspecially Leon.
You saw nothing in Hiroshima.http://drunkenoncelluloid.blogspot.com
Léon is a better film without any doubt. Jean Reno and Natalie Portman are fantastic. However both movies have Luc Besson's trademark all over the place.
Let's say that Léon is the work of a more mature director.
Leon was a very good film. But it took great acting by Gary Oldman to make it all work. Jean Reno was excellent, but without Oldman, the film falls flat. Sure, they could have gotten anyone to play Oldman's role, but Oldman was magnificent.
As for Nikita, I thoroughly enjoyed it as well. The original was much better and more believable than the later made American version. I have wracked my brain for hours trying to think of a better actor than Ann Perrauld to play the role of Nikita, but no one comes to mind that could have been as effective or believable.
Just an opinion, of course. :)
I'm in the minority who prefers Nikita, I felt it had more emotional depth to it. The scenes in the restaurant and honeymoon suite are both heart-breaking for Nikita. And how you can actually care for her so much after the way she acts at the start of the movie.
I do really like Léon too, mainly because of Gary Oldman's excellent performance and the great set pieces.
It might just be because I saw Nikita before Leon (about 2 years before Leon was released).
Both are great films and both have Jean Reno, albeit a much smaller but just as memorable role as Victor the Cleaner in La Femme Nikita. You ask if Besson was on top of his game for this film. I will just say Besson has never been more on top of his game, action-wise, than he was in Nikita. In fact I will go so far as to say without Nikita there would be no Leon.
I personally prefer Nikita. I think it has more style, a more plausible story and most importantly Luc Besson realized his limitations as a filmmaker and didn't push it as far over the top as he did with Leon. It is a far darker film than Leon and a bit more risque (at least for it's time). That being said it is still an over the top action drama and a very enjoyable one at that just not as over the top as Leon.
One thing though... Watch it with the French audio and English subtitles; The dubbed version is really bad. If you're one of those people that doesn't like subtitles then don't even bother.