La Femme Nikita

Nikita is the film that put Luc Besson on the map, and while these days he hasn't done a lot of directing, in the 90's he made a few of that era's best action movies. My favorite is Léon, known originally in the US as The Professional, and I thought Nikita was almost as good. It's not too dissimilar of a story, either. It begins as a drugged-out murderer named Nikita is arrested and tried for her crimes, but she's saved from her sentence by the French government picking her for a program where they turn criminals into killers for the state. She's resistant to the training at first, but eventually she gives in and a few years later she's finally allowed to return to society.

But not before she assassinates a couple VIPs in a restaurant, of course. It's the movie's first big action scene, and sets the tone for what will become Besson's signature feel, violence that's stylized enough to be exciting but also down to earth and brutal enough to be unsettling. When her escape doesn't go quite as planned, Nikita's attempt to get out alive is truly desperate and perilous. Once she's done though, she gets to go, and as soon as she finds a place to live she falls in love with practically the first guy she sees. It's interesting how she allows herself to become attached to someone despite knowing that any time she could get a call with instructions for a hit. Her motivations up to the very end are somewhat mysterious, and she's a unique and enigmatic protagonist to be sure. Near the end Jean Reno appears in a couple scenes as a character that clearly inspired the Besson movie he would later star in, and his brief appearance is the worth watching the whole movie just by itself. It ends pretty abruptly and maybe in an unsatisfying way, but Besson's whole thing back then seems to have been subverting expectations for action movies. Definitely worth checking out today.

Ronin

Yet another film I've seen a lot of before. For what it attempts to do, Ronin is pretty much a perfect action movie. Screw the gigantic CGI-fests of this decade, I'd rather watch this or a Bourne movie any day of the week. The plot is intelligent, the cast is strong, tension rises effectively before violent things start to go down, and the action itself is as exciting as anything. The shootouts aren't terribly elaborate, and despite Robert De Niro's endless talents as an actor he can't help but close his eyes with every shot he fires. But those gun fights are just a warm up for the real thrill of the movie - its car chases.

There are only two real chases in the film, but they're both excellent. Director John Frankenheimer had done them in the past, but I would bet this is the culmination of his talents in that area, if not any others. It's hard to say what makes a chase a success. There's some combination of speed, quick turns, danger, and the right editing that can make all the difference between a truly exciting scene and something that falls flat. Whatever the formula for a good chase, I could watch scenes that make the grade until the end of time. Not continually, though. I mean, a guy's gotta do stuff besides watch movies.

The rest of the movie besides just the chases is good, too. Everyone from the Irish gangsters behind the job to Sean Bean as the bumbling criminal who gets kicked out before he has a chance to really do anything manages to bring something to the table. De Niro and Jean Reno are the key protagonists through the whole thing, and they have a nice international friendship as they battle through betrayals from every direction and fight to get the case that everyone wants. Everything from the planning phase in the beginning through to the relatively downplayed but still interesting finale just works well. Good movie.