Rent Nikita on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Luc Besson
Directed by: Luc Besson
Starring: Anne Parillaud, Marc Duret, Patrick Fontana, Jean Reno
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
In this French language movie, convicted felon Nikita isn't going to jail; she's given a new identity and trained as a top secret assassin.
Verdict
It's one of, if not the very first, female assassin movies. This details not just the preparation to be a spy but the set up for each job. Nikita tries to balance being an operative with living a normal life, and that's not an easy feat. It's one thing to train to be a killer, but it's another thing to actually commit to taking a life. We watch a feral woman along for the ride transform into someone with agency that eventually makes a distinct choice about her future.
Watch it.
Review
This very well could be, and likely is, the foundation for movies like Atomic Blonde (2017), Anna (2019), and Kate (2021).
A group of addicts knock over a pharmacy, and things deteriorate quickly, leading to a shoot out with the police. Nikita (Anne Parillaud), strung out, shoots a cop after the gunfire has subsided and her accomplices are dead. While in custody she attacks a cop. We're not sure if she's high or a psychopath.
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| Anne Parillaud plays Nikita |
After her arrest, a mysterious government program recruits Nikita to be an agent. They've faked her death, and she can choose to join the program or die. If she agrees, they will train her as a specialist. It's safe to assume, these will be black ops missions. She gets one hour to decide. Instead she attacks her captor and gets into a hostage situation. She's subdued and detained again, but Nikita agrees to join the program.
Nikita is trained in a variety of subjects, including computers, firearms, and fighting. She's a quick study, but she seems almost feral. Her handler sees a lot of potential, but his bosses see a problem subject that isn't developing quickly enough.
Three years later and Nikita has had quite the makeover. I like how deftly this makes the time jump with an off handed remark about her birthday. What seems like a rare night out ends up being her first assignment. You'd think they'd allow her some prep time, but maybe this is another test and they want to see how she does when she's thrown into the middle of it. She completes the mission, but not without surprises and difficulties.
Nikita is released to live a cover life, but she must spring to action whenever the agency calls. She finds someone quickly and begins dating, but I'd think that would be inadvisable with her job. It's a vulnerability and a risk. How do you keep secret your job as an assassin?
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| Anne Parillaud plays Nikita |
Her handler provides Nikita and her fiance tickets to Venice as an engagement gift, but the agency never does anything out of pure generosity. Nikita has to balance the job and a 'normal' life while on vacation. Her fiance keeps prying, wondering about her past and her refusal to talk about it. She has no answers, and they get into an argument while she's locked herself in the bathroom tasked with sniping a target.
Nikita's first big solo mission goes sideways, though it's not her fault. Things keep getting worse as she waits on whether the agency will tell her to proceed. A cleaner is called in, and while she's upset the mission didn't work out, Nikita is devastated at how many people die as the agency tries to erase the blunder. Her fiance has also figured out her secret. He urges her to flee, for her own safety and sanity. Nikita completes the mission and disappears.
While it's a slick action movie, it also examines the emotional toll of this work. Nikita can't live a normal life, despite her attempts. Even a run of the mill mission involves murdering someone. There's no way to know if they deserved it. When a mission goes bad, the death toll escalates rapidly. Nikita never wanted this. She chose it because it was that or death. Ultimately she choose to leave, it's the first choice we've seen her make solely for herself.
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