Leon - Still holds up

The nineties had its fair share of great action movies, such as 'The Rock, Speed' and 'Armageddon' and, although 1994's 'Leon' doesn't really contain half as much action, or nearly a quarter of the destruction and special effects of the others, it's as if it sits in some sort of 'Marvel-style' 'shared universe' of movies.

Luc Besson directs Jean Reno as the titular 'Leon' - a loner-hitman, living in New York, happily earning his money by *ahem* 'removing' people from circulation.  His life is straightforward (if a little violent) enough, until a gang murders the family in the next apartment and he's forced to look after the only survivor - a young girl called Mathilda (Natalie Portman).  The two of them form an unlikely bond and he even feels protective enough towards her to confide in her as to the true nature of his profession and maybe 'teach her the tools' of his trade.

The premise is sound enough to warrant a watch, but 'Leon' is one of those rare films where every performance is just so perfect that it can't be flawed.  Although, as great as its two leads are, it's Gary Oldman as the villain who steals every scene with his delightfully manic performance.

Like I say, there's not half as much action or high-octane energy in 'Leon' when you compare it to other 'action' films.  It's more centred on tension and the drama of each character and their slow transformations from interacting with each other.

Perhaps the only small 'criticism' (notice the quote marks?) is that certain scenes do somehow feel a little 'uncomfortable' to watch.  These normally focus around the young girl's 'feelings' towards her adult mentor, but then I'm guessing the script is supposed to show the awkwardness that a relationship like this can cause.

However, that doesn't detract from the fact that 'Leon' is still as watchable today as it was back then and it's become a well-deserved classic in its own right since its release all those years ago.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one