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Léon: The Professional

7.6

73,764

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Original title

Leon (Léon)

Year

1994

Running time

106 min.

Country

France

Director

Luc Besson

Screenwriter

Luc Besson

Cast

Music

Eric Serra

Cinematography

Thierry Arbogast

Producer

Gaumont, Les Films du Dauphin

Genre

Action. Thriller. Drama | Crime. Revenge. Buddy Film. Cult movie

Synopsis

12-year-old Mathilda's family are murdered in a drug deal gone awry. Orphaned by the massacre, Mathilda is forced to take shelter in the apartment of a neighbor, Leon, whom she knows only slightly. He's a loner and first generation immigrant, who also happens to be a professional hitman. He's never had reason to care about anybody and she has no one else to turn to. Together, they form a makeshift bond that will forever change both their lives.

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Rankings Position

#27 Best Action Movies
#33 Best French Movies of all time
#64 Best Movies of the '90s
#71 Best Thrillers in the history of film
#83 Best Crime Movies

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Awards: 1994: César Awards: 7 Nominations

1996: Premios de la Academia Japonesa: nominated to Best Foreign Language Film.

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Critics' reviews

"A perfectly-balanced movie (...) [Its] influence can be felt in a number of action films that have followed it, but none have replicated its atmosphere of terror and play, melodrama and mundanity quite so well."

Christopher Hooton: The Independent
"Luc Besson's first English-language hit is, like much of the Frenchman's work, less than subtle, yet it is stylish, disturbing and weirdly moving (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"

Ed Potton: The Times
"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"

Geoff Andrew: Time Out
"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 (...) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"

Mark Salisbury: Empire
"A naive fairy tale splattered with blood."

Lisa Nesselson: Variety
"Ah, monsieur, you can lead a Frenchman to the Big Apple, but you can't make him a New Yorker -- and that's exactly what makes 'The Professional' so fascinating."

Lisa Schwarzbaum: Entertainment Weekly
"'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."

Janet Maslin: The New York Times
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Ranking Lists Position

7 My Favorite French Movies (192)
19 My Favorite Movies from Europe & Latin America (83)
20 My Favorite Action Movies (342)
47 Movies with a Great Female Lead (61)
50 My Favorites from the 90s (179)
53 Movies that Don't Seem that Special but are Very Special to Me (63)
56 Movies I Want to Own (121)
57 Little Gems: Little Known Movies I've Discovered (58)
95 Underrated Movies (41)

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Léon: The Professional

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