The Professional

Directed by Luc Besson, The Professional follows taciturn assassin Leon (Jean Reno) as he becomes a reluctant mentor to a young girl (Natalie Portman’s Mathilda) after her entire family is murdered. Filmmaker Besson, working from his own screenplay, delivers a mostly enthralling thriller that captures the viewer’s interest and attention from the word go, as The Professional kicks off with a thoroughly engrossing opening stretch that effectively establishes the two central characters and their respective lives – with the compelling atmosphere heightened by Besson’s stylish, eye-catching visuals and a pair of top-notch lead performances. (And this is to say nothing of Gary Oldman’s brazenly, unapologetically over-the-top turn as the movie’s flamboyant villain, with the actor’s far-from-subtle efforts here a consistent highlight within the proceedings.) The midsection, though a little on the padded-out side, boasts an appealing emphasis on the father-daughter bond between Leon and Mathilda, and it is, as a result, hard to deny that the action-packed bent of the film’s gripping third act packs a far more visceral, enthralling bent than one might’ve anticipated – which does, ultimately, cement The Professional‘s place as a predominantly first-class endeavor that belongs near the top of Besson’s hit-and-miss filmography.

***1/2 out of ****