Nikita (1990)

La femme Nikita

Revisiting Luc Besson's major break I can easily spot several of the things that later made The Fifth Element and Lèon such major hits, but this one isn't as well worked out throughout.

Anne Parillaud doesn't quite manage to sell the new Nikita after making a great effort in the beginning of the movie. The support cast is better, but still have some lacks as well. Mostly the problem is the balancing act from Besson that doesn't quite manage to capture the feel needed to pull this off.

It's still a story that has become a franchise through remake and TV-shows, and it sure got its moments also in this original. We're talking about Luc Besson, so it's never boring whatever else you might have to say about it.

Angel-A (2005)

Angel-A

Andrè has hit rock bottom, but even there there's company to be found. I'm in general a fan of Luc Besson, and it's not difficult to recognize some of his usual touches here as well. Still. Shot in black and white, attempting to be deeper and more profound and not the best cast for female lead leaves it as a nice attempt rather than an accomplished movie.

There's still a lot of good to say about it. Jamel Debbouze is capturing Andrè really well, the cinematography of Paris in black and white are sometimes stunningly beautiful and there's scenes and moments were everything lines up the way Besson probably visioned the entire movie to do.