Léon: The Professional (1994) movie poster

Léon: The Professional (1994)

Léon
"If you want the job done right, hire a professional."
ThumbScore
👍 91%Google users liked it ⓘ
Critics Score
🎬 70%
CrimeDramaAction

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Where to Watch

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Director
Runtime
1h 51m
Rated
R
Country
France
Language
French
TMDB Rating
8.3/10 (15,869 votes)
Rotten Tomatoes
76%
Metacritic
64

Cast

Jean Reno as Léon Montana · 71% avg
Natalie Portman as Mathilda Lando · 72% avg
Gary Oldman as Norman Stansfield · 73% avg
Danny Aiello as Tony · 74% avg
Peter Appel as Malky · 74% avg
Michael Badalucco as Mathilda's Father
Ellen Greene as Mathilda's Mother · 76% avg
Elizabeth Regen as Mathilda's Sister

Is Léon: The Professional good?

Yes. 91% of real audiences liked it, by Google's archived audience score. Critics scored it lower at 70%, but audiences disagreed.

Where it ranks on ThumbScore

Rank in its genre
#22 / 1253 · Crime
Rank in its year
#7 / 84 · 1994
Rank among its director's films
#1 / 16 · Luc Besson

By audience score, among films with 500 or more votes.

Overview

Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps. Wikipedia ↗

About the Film

Léon: The Professional is a 1994 French-American action thriller film written and directed by Luc Besson. The film stars Jean Reno as Léon Montana, a solitary, illiterate Italian-American hitman living in New York City whose carefully ordered existence is upended when his twelve-year-old neighbor Mathilda, played by Natalie Portman in her film debut, seeks refuge in his apartment after her family is murdered by corrupt DEA agent Norman Stansfield, played by Gary Oldman. An unlikely bond forms between the emotionally stunted assassin and the grief-stricken, precociously tough girl, as Léon teaches Mathilda the art of assassination while she teaches him to read and to feel.

Natalie Portman's astonishing debut performance — she was only 11 years old during filming — announced the arrival of a major talent and remains one of the most impressive child performances in cinema history. Gary Oldman's performance as Stansfield was a masterclass in unhinged villainy, with his pill-popping, Beethoven-loving corrupt agent becoming one of the most quotable antagonists of the 1990s. Jean Reno brought a melancholic gentleness to Léon that made the character unexpectedly sympathetic despite his profession.

Luc Besson's original cut of the film, released internationally as "Léon: Version Intégrale," included 24 additional minutes that expanded Mathilda's character but also intensified the controversial romantic undertones of the relationship, which have been debated by critics and audiences for decades.

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