This is a remake of La Femme Nikita except in English. I must be really clever because I just turned the channel to it not having any idea what it was and I figured it out pretty fast. And I kept thinking it's remarkable how well they emulated everything about Luc Besson and didn't realize it was actually made by him until the credits.
It's in an uncanny valley where a lot of stuff is a realistic depiction of how spies would operate in the 1980s. But then there's the silliness of the KGB & CIA running around killing massive numbers of people in Europe like it's a John Woo movie, which neither side did back then. And there's weird visual stuff like using 2010s computers. I guess that was because zoomers won't understand what's happening if they saw a DOS program. So the whole thing gives off a really odd vibe where it's halfway between James Bond and The Assets. I can accept this kind of weirdness but only if it's in French.
The action scenes are good. Clearly FPS inspired. It's like watching someone who's got talent and 10,000 hours in it playing Battlefield. Pacing is good. The actress is really cute and does a good job at what her role is.
But what her role is... 
She's a Luc Besson movie protagonist. So she seems to be an empowered woman on the surface. Omg she's so badass! She can shoot guys! But internally she's a weak hollow person who is basically a sociopath. She has no soul.
Why does he write female characters like this? It's because he's a sicko. Why is 13 year old Nathalie Portman in Leon constantly demanding to have s*x with the guy? It's because Luc Besson fricks 13 year old girls. He's a vile child molester who really hates women and it seeps through into his writing. He sees them basically as animals and sexuality as a way of using other people or being used.
But he's really good at making movies, I can't deny that. For a good one, I recommend The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec. It's based on a preexisting character so he can't impose his sick fetishes. And she rides a pterodactyl through fin de siecle Paris.
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Is it though?
I really like Leon, and a huge part of what I like about it is the dynamic between Leon and Matilda. They both are so different that there's practically no circumstance under which any relationship could be formed here- one is an old man and the other is a girl. One is an emotionless professional and the other is a demanding child. One is an assassin and the other is a victim. Yet through these differences and many attempts they manage to form a connection, as they each go through different archetypes before landing on what works. For Leon it was a journey from being ignorant and uncaring to a teacher and a mentor to a father figure. For Matilda it was a journey from being a clueless child to an apprentice and a servant to a daughter figure.
Hypersexuality is not something out of the ordinary for a teenage girl who had recently experienced a horrible event and is now trying to bond with the only person she has. Through neglect and lack of parental love and care she tries to compensate by seeking affection in other ways, because she's a child and does not yet understand how human relationships actually work, and with her being an orphaned assassin in training she was forced to grow up much faster, leading to her seeing herself as way more mature than she actually is. This continues until Leon shuts her down enough times for her to understand that he sees her as a child and not a sexual partner, which leads to her character actually maturing and becoming akin to a daughter for him.
This is not to say Besson is not a weirdo or a creep, but I definitely think there's more intent behind this than just p-do fanservice
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Yeah I totally agree with everything you said. It's just that he's got way too much experience being in these situations and he's the guy who said yes
. I mean I'm not joking the guy is openly a chomo. That's considered acceptable in France if you're an "artist".
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I thought in the french version he actually bangs her?
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Geez I hope not
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I was wrong. It was in the original screenplay, though.
https://old.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1rgtdt/til_that_in_the_original_screenplay_of_leon_the
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I mean Luc did use to frick girls who were around 15 .
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