Luc Besson has a reputation for big, showy films that come complete with amazing set pieces, stunning back drops and clever characterisation and yet Leon, one of his most memorable master-pieces, is far more subtle, constrained and, some might say, gentle despite its often disturbing and disquiet subject matter! Leon is a "Cleaner", what we would call a Hitman, who keeps himself to himself and involves himself as little as possible in the lives of others. But somewhere in his hard and heavy heart he finds a place for Mathilda, a little girl who lives down the hall from him, when her family are all wiped out by corrupt DEA officials lead by the ...  Read the complete review

After listening to my boyfriend rave about this film for some weeks now and hearing so many times how it's his favourite film - much to his delight, I finally sat down and watched it, not being 100% sure what to expect. For the record Leon was renamed The Professional for US release, so if you go looking for this film in the US, you're looking for The Professional. Leon (Jean Reno) is a French hit man living in America just trying to get by. He's a loner both by emotional choice and by the strains of his job. His best friend is a plant but you'd be mistaken if you thought he was unhinged. Leon might be a hit man but he has morals - no woman, no ...  Read the complete review

I had been told by several people how great this film and it very much sounded like the kind of thing I would enjoy was so decided I should find out for myself, but unfortunately it was a huge disappointment! The story basically revolves around and assassin named 'Leon' who reluctantly befriends a young girl who lived down the corridor from him in their apartment block and has recently been orphaned. She is determined to avenge the ones responsible for murdering her family and Leon helps to train her up in her quest to accomplish this task. I have no problem with the storyline and there were some good moments in the film, but I found the acting was ...  Read the complete review

Luc Besson's classic film about a hitman called Léon (Jean Reno) and his long-suffering young neighbour Mathilda (Natalie Portman), whose entire family are wiped out whilst she went down to buy some milk in a DEA drug raid by the evil Stansfield (Gary Oldman). It's a tale of morality and of corruption, of innocence and violence, as Léon struggles to decide wether to help Mathilda in her quest for revenge against the people who wronged her. The director's cut here contrains an extra 26 minutes that was originally taken out of the film after it was originally screened to audience previews, and I personally feel the extra 26 minutes adds a lot of depth and ...  Read the complete review

Leon has always been one of my all time favourite films that i have watched many times throughout the years and having recently watched it again last night i felt compelled to share some of my opinions about it. There are very few films that i can keep coming back to and watch over and over again with this being one of them. I want to talk more specifically about the directors cut version as it was only a year or so ago i learnt about its existence and watched it. For Leon lovers i thought it was brilliant and very exciting to add over 20 minutes of extended footage to the film. For those who have yet to see the original i recommend you do so first before the directors ..  Read the complete review