When I was a kid, I was just getting into movies. And I watched a crap ton. Then I saw an amazing film. Sure it came out in 1994, so it was kinda old when I saw it, but it was still awesome. The Professional. Also known as Leon.
And this is also where I started my crush on Natalie Portman (I was a kid, she was a kid in the film, and she is 8 years older than me. So its NOT creepy).
This movie was more than just Portman's onscreen debut; it was an amazingly done film, with perfect cinematography, some of the best action scenes, great acting from Jean Reno and Gary "Awesome" Oldman (especially from Portman. Her first film, and she can emote as if she was acting longer than fricken Meryl Streep). And the story is amazing.
A quick sum up of The Professional: An Italian hitman named Leon (Jean Reno) is considered the best there is. He lives next door to a family; a member of which is a little girl named Matilda (Natalie Portman), who is the target of abuse by not only her father, but her stepmother and half sister. The only one she loves is her little brother. However, her crook father tried to hide some drugs from some crooked DA detectives, the leader being a psychotic detective called Stansfield (Gary Oldman). Stansfield kills the whole family, including the little brother, while Matilda is away and manages to find refuge next door by Leon, the hitman. She requests to be trained since she cant pay him to kill them. Action ensues, and a relationship develops.
This movie became my favorite film, and thus, Luc Besson became one of my favorite writer/directors. The man is responsible for the cult classic The Fifth Element, as well as many other great movies like The Transporter, La Femme Nikita, Kiss of the Dragon, Unleashed, and more recently, Taken.
Now, when you watch a Besson film, you know it. And his newest written piece is Colombiana. While not directed by Besson, much like Taken wasnt, I have to say, it was good. The story is basically about a little girl, Catalaya, who (kinda) sees her parents being killed due to involvment with a drug car-tel in Colombia. She escapes and finds her way to her uncle and Chicago, and grows up to be a great professional assassin (hit-woman?) while also persuing the people responsible for her family's death.
This stars Zoe Saldana, who is slowly being known as the next Halle Berry.
The movie does have its moments of predictability, but still pumps out the cool of a good revenge flick.
Not only that, but it also conveys what the main character has to sacrifice even MORE. You can understand why she may believe she has nothing to lose in the beginning, but as you watch more of the story, it's shown that she STILL has a lot to lose.
The film also has alot of fun symbolism play especially with the orchids, and every character has a certain depth. Well, accept for a couple villains.
The love scenes are kind of... sporadic, giving a sense of certain scenes being just fanservice since, lets face it, Saldana IS well on her way to being the next Halle Berry.
However, stay calm feminists, she never goes full frontal. The love scenes, and the very short shower scene, are still tastefully shot with the camera work. So it doesn't down-grade her character by showing her as an attractive woman.
Hell, a good part of the story builds BECAUSE she is female, and is one of the main reasons why cops were mislead in the first place.
My favorite part of the whole film is the constant call back to the professional.
This to me seemed like what Besson would have done if the story of The Professional was writtin slightly differently and continued. Think about it. In the film starring Portman, she is a little girl who loses everything due to a drug thing, and is taken in by a sympathetic assassin. In Colombiana, a little girl also loses everything due to a drug thing, and is also (kinda) taken in by an assassin. The key difference being two points in these character's lives.
In The Professional, Leon regretfully agrees to help Matilda learn the "basics" of being a hitman, however, she grows to love Leon like a new father figure, and both of their love for one another (the appropraite kind of love people) was able to help Matilda through her trauma, and Leon takes revenge for her anyway when she was in danger.
In Colombiana, Cataleya never really gets over her trauma. She is taught how to kill, yes, but she actually goes through with the business, so far so that it swallows up her morality and judgement all together. She was shown love, but shuns it all away for revenge. Unlike in The Professional the antagonists responisble for her parents death were in hiding and survive into her years as an adult.
There were other call backs, like how the Cataleya character dresses, as shown above. The scene where her Uncle randomly shoots in the street vaguelly reminds me of when Matilda does the same.
Aside from all the references, it was a good story well told. I went to see a Besson film, and was satisfied, and Besson proves that an assassin film is always entertaining. The film really portrays how even though you want revenge so badly, bad enough to a point where you work outside justice, its sometimes best to let things go and appreciate what you survived with.
...but.... I would LOVE to see Natalie Portman reprise her role as Matilda.
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