Little Nikita

Directed by Richard Benjamin, Little Nikita follows River Phoenix’s Jeff Grant as he’s targeted by a tenacious FBI agent (Sidney Poitier’s Roy Parmenter) who’s convinced that Jeff’s parents (Richard Jenkins’ Richard and Caroline Kava’s Elizabeth) are sleeper spies for Russia. It’s a terrific premise that’s employed to periodically watchable yet mostly underwhelming effect by Benjamin, as the filmmaker, working from Bo Goldman and John Hill’s screenplay, delivers an overwrought and needlessly convoluted endeavor that fares especially poorly in its oddly difficult-to-follow opening stretch – with the arms-length vibe compounded by Benjamin’s inability to cultivate a plausible atmosphere (ie it’s all just so larger-than-life and less-than-subtle). And while the picture admittedly does improve slightly once it progresses into its narrative proper, Little Nikita‘s absence of compelling, interesting sequences paves the way for a midsection that is, for the most part, distressingly dull – with the movie’s various problems compounded by an atypically lackluster performance by Phoenix. The inclusion of a comparatively engrossing climax, which involves a car vs. trolley pursuit and a fairly electrifying confrontation, ultimately arrives far too late to compensate for what’s otherwise a palpable misfire, with the end result a predominantly disappointing piece of work that squanders a top-notch setup and talented roster of players.

** out of ****