Point of No Return (1993)

Just perfect...

Good start, but then it gets ruined

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The first half of "Point of No Return" is the promise of a hard-hitting action movie that never quite delivers. It's a great premise - street-roaming loser being plucked into assassin training by the U.S. government - they gloss over the honing of her skills in favor of dwelling on her resistance to the program. Then there's the screen time devoted to her adjusting to a normal life, which means this movie tends to drag in places. The upside to this are the Anne Bancroft scenes, but she's just in charge of etiquette. There's no real tension until the New Orleans sniper hit, and that's seventy minutes into the movie. In its defense, between that last job and the arrival of The Cleaner, the movie does pick up from there. It's just a mild slog to get to that point.Credit where it's due, Bridget Fonda is well-suited to the role. She's got the physicality and the acting skills to pull off Nina's anxiety. She's a credible assassin, too. I mean, if I saw her in a restaurant, I'd find somewhere else to eat. But to be honest, I was walking into this hoping for more violent payoff.5/10

As a general rule of thumb, most action films can be improved if the lead character is female - the more vulnerable, the better. There are literally dozens of films a year where some beefcake gets to blow sets up and shoot hundreds of faceless extras but girls-with-guns films are a bit less common. When Luc Besson was invited to America to remake his smash hit "Nikita", he stepped out of the directors chair and handed the reins to John Badham but personally, I'd have liked to have seen Besson in control. As an adaptation, it sticks fairly closely to the original so if you've seen that then this probably won't float your boat. But if not, what "The Assassin" (or "Point Of No Return" for US readers) remains is a faintly plodding thriller with hints of tortured romance and explosive action bubbling beneath the surface.Street-kid Maggie (Bridge Fonda) is involved in a violent robbery that goes horribly wrong whilst high on drugs. Imprisoned and sentenced to death after she kills a policeman, Maggie wakes up after her apparent execution in the care of the enigmatic Bob (Gabriel Byrne) who offers her a second chance. Training to become a hit-man under Bob's tutelage, Maggie's feminine side is brought out by fellow recruit Amanda (Anne Bancroft) and soon, she's released into the world with a new identity and a codename to be called when her skills are required. But away from the bloodshed, she falls for photographer JP (Dermot Mulroney) and soon, she must be forced to choose which of her two new lives must end.However you know the film, "Point Of No Return" is a cold-fish of a thriller has plenty to recommend but remains a bit of a cold fish. It doesn't involve you very much as though it wants to keep you at a safe distance. A pity because Fonda delivers during a rare lead part for her - her turn from spunky street urchin to refined, urbane killer is believable although it does feel a bit rushed in terms of screen time. I felt that there was too much story for the film and what was there was a little slow, never more so than when Maggie is out in the real world. In order to spice things up a bit, we're treated to a few thoroughly good action sequences with improbably big guns which are typically Besson - everything explodes and all guns sound like .44 Magnums. Byrne and Mulroney are pretty substandard but Harvey Keitel delivers a brief but brilliant performance as Victor the Cleaner while it's good to see Bancroft still producing the goods.I have yet to see "Nikita" but it is on my To Do list, primarily because of this movie. It's a decent enough action thriller, making the most of its ludicrous premise (why did Bob pick Maggie, out of all the condemned prisoners?). But I couldn't help but wonder how different it would have been with Besson directing - probably would have breathed some life into the material instead of the impassive movie that was on my screen. It was trying too hard to be cool which, those of you who know, means that you are no longer cool if you have to try. Despite the action and Nina Simone soundtrack which is something I definitely approve of, "Point Of No Return" is an average film at best but with slight hints that it could have been better. It's not a blast-a-minute action movie, nor is it a gripping thriller. It's as middle-of-the-road as a zebra crossing and lacking the kinetic energy it deserved.

Mediocre and at times Mundane, this Remake of Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita (1990) is Watchable and Americanized to the Point of No Cigar. It is all so Typical and Formulaic that even some Fine Actors cannot make this Rise Above its Uninspired Artlessness.Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, Anne Bancroft and Harvey Keitel all give Acceptable Pedestrian Performances with Fonda and Keitel Standing Out, but They seem at times Directionless. The Love Interest Provided here is as Forgettable as the Actor Mugging His way through the Overdone Love Scenes.But the Original had so much to Offer that Copying Scene for Scene gives this Enough Pedigree to make it not as Awful as it could have been, but Considering the Inspired Nikita, the Remake is Most Disappointing.

US thriller finely directed by John Badham about a violent junkie who becomes undercover assassin . Exciting and stirring movie that was formerly adapted in French style by Luc Besson , dealing with an once-amoral street urchin become into a gorgeous woman of sensitivity and depth . A gang of armed drug-addicts break into a shop to try and steal drugs to fuel their habit and then takes place a bloody tour of force . However, the police arrive too fast and all addicts but one are killed . The hardened criminal (Bridget Fonda , role previously acted by Anne Parillaud and Bridget was cast after Jodie Foster and Winona Ryder turned it down) , a punk-junkie sociopath acts with consistence violence , even in police custody and is given a life sentence . Having killed a cop when the theft gone awry is condemned to death row but she is reprieved by a strange organization . After being drugged by her captors she wakes up to find that she has been spared in order to train her as a government assassin . However, top-secret agency official (a Svengali alike ,Gabriel Byrne , interpreted in the French version by Tcheky Karyo and Antonio Banderas was considered for the role of Bob) arranges a stage , so she can be elaborately trained as phantom killer and subdued into obedience in order to enroll in a governing finishing school. After a dramatic transformation in which she is trained in etiquette , she is allowed to leave and start a new life for herself . On her eventual release she turns into a sophisticated girl thanks to an old lady (Anne Bancroft , role also acted by Jeanne Moreau) . As a cover, she gets a new identity and with a new beau , all the while carrying out agency-mandated assassinations. And with a wonderful house-mate, a broad-minded, gentle boyfriend (Dermot Mulroney , previously performed by Jean Hugues Anglade) . The two fall in love, but that complicates jobs. His good influence extends to breeding her a conscience that puts love over business, alas unlike agency. However, she begins to discover that there is more to life than she previously thought and soon begins to wish she could escape from her obligation. But the government aren't so easy to evade .This exciting noir-thriller is packed with thrills , tension , suspense and lots of noisy action . From start to finish the action pace is fast moving , provides fast and furious entertainment with spectacular scenes . This is a stylish and particular version of Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw , including a master played by Gabriel Byrne and his disciple performed by Bridget Fonda . Displays nonstop action and is extremely entertaining and thrilling . Some scenes are brutal and with a load of violence. Still it's a good movie, I think furthermore the incredible chemistry between Gabriel Byrne and Bridget Fonda ,the plot was moving and intense , it makes you want to know what happens after . Bridget is pretty good as the heroine who turns in violent tendencies to patriotic use , both as the anti-social rebel of the early scenes and the sophisticated, seductive young lady of the later ones ; a bitterly ironic moral evolution for a contract killer . It benefits enormously from a memorably assured performances such as Miguel Ferrer as Kaufman , Anne Bancroft as Amanda , Olivia d'Abo as Angela Richard Romanus as Fahd Bahktiar and Harvey Keitel as Victor the Cleaner . In addition a cameo by the same director John Badham as a room-service waiter . Atmospheric musical score by Hans Zimmer , though with excessive use of synthesizer . Colorful cinematography by Michael Watkins and perfectly remastered , including his cameo as last guard at the gate during the escape. The motion picture was lavishly produced and professionally directed by John Badham with his ordinary visual pyrotechnics but with no originality , being a simple copy from original film ; having directed one episode of recent Nikita series . However , Luc Besson declined the opportunity to remake his French hit Nikita. Other versions about Nikita character are the followings : ¨Nikita¨ series produced by Jay Firestone with Peta Wilson , Roy Dupois , Matthew Ferguson and Alberta Watson ; and Nikita (52 episodes, 2010-2013) with Maggie Q , Shane West as Michael , Lyndsy Fonseca and Aaron Stanford .