Leon: The Professional (1994) - Full Reaction
Added 2025-04-30 11:01:02 +0000 UTCNatalie Portman in this!!! She was do fantastic-and also Leon!! I liked the uniqueness of the story, the characters, the filming all of it. It had it all, but I think tenderness in the middle deep down?
PS: This was the extended cut which I rented and streamed from Amazon. I don't know what the actual name of the movie is either. Is it "The Professional", "Leon" or "Leon: The Professional" (I went with this one because it included both!)
Comments
It's a movie, it's a modern-day Lolita. Has she fallen in love with him, whatever the reasons? Yes. Does Leon see her as a daughter? No. Leon has stopped in his perception of life at 19 years, since the traumatic events. He's almost a teenager himself, even though he's about 45. The way he naively watches his favorite movies, the way he talks, the way he's a bit stunted and unadjusted to adult life.
Oleh B
2025-05-16 19:19:12 +0000 UTCJean Reno plays a pretty great criminal partner to Robert De Niro in Ronin, a film with its share of weirdos too.
Bert Towle
2025-05-09 06:56:08 +0000 UTCMan on Fire ‘tis not or even that of The Man From Nowhere. You have the right to express your opinion I’m sure there are many others who have the same sentiment. It’s definitely an overrated movie.
Hi_MovieVerse
2025-05-01 17:58:54 +0000 UTCpedophile movie. sorry. no other way to say it. very uncomfortable to watch. the director luc besson definetly very sus.
Luca
2025-05-01 17:23:44 +0000 UTCI'll tell Ben to make them a priority!
Cassie
2025-05-01 14:32:19 +0000 UTCCassie could you please fix the links to The Green Mile and Sixth Sense reactions?
Maisie
2025-05-01 14:31:25 +0000 UTCI love this movie, basically for all the same reasons Cassie said. "He's actually DEA? No, DEA don't execute people like that." I almost choked on my coffee, and I'll leave it at that.
fastecp1
2025-05-01 14:19:32 +0000 UTC+1 for HOTEL RWANDA, though Don Cheadle is the lead with Nick Nolte having a prominent role.
Clay F
2025-05-01 08:47:23 +0000 UTCMajor ICK alert, guys! Reader discretion advised. I've never seen this one, and unfortunately there's a reason. Back in the 90s, I worked with a guy who had a major crush on Natalie Portman. Problem was, he was in his 40s and she was no more than 14 at the time. For a while, the screensaver on his computer was Natalie in Leon. This could possibly be explained away, except for the X-rated mpeg he sent me once, which strongly suggested that Natalie was actually a bit old for him. Cassie's comments above don't suggest the film is too pervy, though, so maybe it's ok to watch.
Clarence Newman
2025-05-01 08:25:52 +0000 UTCCassie, if you are at all interested in watching any more movies with Jean Reno (Leon) in them, I recommend RONIN, THE CRINSON RIVERS, THE DA VINCI CODE, LA FEMME NIKITA, HOTEL RWANDA, FRENCH KISS and the two Steve Martin PINK PANTHER movies. Do not -- I repeat do not -- watch the 1998 GODZILLA movie he was in. It's dreadful.
Stick Figure Studios
2025-05-01 07:00:27 +0000 UTCClassic, bedrock Gary-Oldman-is-the-best-actor-ever material
Mark Daniels
2025-05-01 04:29:08 +0000 UTCCassie. Thank You for watching the Extended Cut 😀 This is one of my favorite Movies
Walter Crockett
2025-05-01 04:10:34 +0000 UTCThe girl you were thinking of in Kick-Ass (2010) was Hit-Girl played by Chloë Grace Moretz. She was also 12 years old. "I'm f**king with you Daddy."
Clay F
2025-04-30 22:52:59 +0000 UTCI have no idea what is going on here, but here is a clip about Shondo calling out mods- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSx6JuRP6KY
Mike Lemon
2025-04-30 21:54:17 +0000 UTCIndeed they were. Dirty DEA cops, but still real ones
Stick Figure Studios
2025-04-30 21:51:19 +0000 UTCAnd that line was just a silly improv on Gary's part. The script called for him to say it in a lower, presumably more menacing tone, which he had done for several takes, but he decided to just let loose once to try to amuse the director and it proved so frightening that it was left in.
Stick Figure Studios
2025-04-30 21:34:41 +0000 UTCDitto. This movie introduced me to all three of these actors and I thought they were all just superb.
Stick Figure Studios
2025-04-30 21:33:43 +0000 UTCI love that what was just an off-the-cuff goof on his part has turned into one of the most memorable, electrifying and oft-imitated moments in the history of cinema.
Stick Figure Studios
2025-04-30 21:33:16 +0000 UTCAn excellent reaction, Cassie. Exactly what I expected. I'm glad you liked it. :-) To answer your outro question, the scenes that were cut out of the American version were Mathilda playing Russian roulette, the scenes of Mathilda accompanying Leon on the various hits (i.e. the introduction of the "ring trick"), Matilda and Leon in the restaurant drinking, and the scene where Leon tells Mathilda about his past experience with the woman and they go to sleep in the bed. What's ironic about the last one is that cutting it means that the movie shows Leon waking up in bed violently in the morning as Mathilda is sitting next to him telling him how he snored like a baby the night before. It's actually more suggestive without the prior scene showing that nothing actually happened between them. While it is indeed sad that Leon dies at the end, I think e that it was inevitable. Leon was dead the minute he welcomed Mathilda into his life. He was a loner and he couldn't do the job that he did and have someone he cared about at home waiting for him, he couldn't focus on the task at hand while worrying about someone else who was depending on him. As the love grew in his heart and he got more in touch with his own humanity, he got worse as an assassin. The first hit he goes on after taking in Mathilda, you can see he was shot and he has to stitch himself up in the shower. He's losing his edge. He's getting sloppy. He can't be the calm, effective professional we saw him be in the opening sequence anymore. I think it's also significant that he dies the very day after the night he sleeps in a bed for the first time in decades. He let his guard down and he paid for it. He manages to convince himself near the end that there is hope he might be able to escape away to a life with Mathilda where he could be happy, put down roots, etc, but I think deep down he always knew that could never be. That he was essentially signing his own death warrant when he first opened that door to her. That's why on the first night that he's there, he gets up in the middle of it, takes his gun, walks into the room and almost shoots her in the head because he knows that she will destroy his whole ordered and controlled world. She is a liability to him, but ultimately he couldn't do it. "No women, no kids." In the end, he figured it was better that he died and she live then the other way around. He made the ultimate sacrifice for her.
Stick Figure Studios
2025-04-30 21:26:59 +0000 UTCIt's quite fitting that Cassie said in her intro that she always accidentally says Gary Oldham rather than Oldman, as 'Old Ham' is a fitting description of his dreadful work here. It's an undirected performance in a barely-written role, and its enduring popularity is inexplicable to me. Leon is a sloppy and shallow film, but then everything Luc Besson does is just half-baked posturing, and the fact that Jean Reno and Natalie Portman keep this film as watchable as they do is a testament to their talents rather than his.
Henry Graham
2025-04-30 20:18:37 +0000 UTCI love that you enjoyed it. One of my favorite movies. Great reaction! And Gary Oldman's crew were all DEA agents. So there was no two teams of dudes. Luc Besson is so gooood. (Director). He directed The Fifth Element as well.
Philip Alan
2025-04-30 20:08:46 +0000 UTCBut when you consider the fact that Luc Besson dated a girl who was 15 when he was 32 (she was 11 when they met) and impregnated her at 16.... It puts the movie in different light. Age of consent is 15 in France, but in most other European countries he would have gone to jail. The movie is inspired by this IRL experience of Luc Besson, according to him Also Natalie Portman has said that the movie had a very negative impact on her growing up. She didn't feel comfortable doing love or hookup scenes in any movies after that, until years and years later. She was basically traumatized by the film.
Shreddy
2025-04-30 18:51:35 +0000 UTCShe was on a talk show the other day and said she would never let her kid take a role like that. But then she also said it was a great experience. lol
Chris Thom
2025-04-30 18:08:41 +0000 UTCI'm stuck on Janet Reno. But that's wrong on a lot of levels.
Chris Thom
2025-04-30 18:05:37 +0000 UTCGood movie. On a completely different matter your mods and popcorn chat are overly critical and sensitive. Your mod Dave is the worst muting folks defending themselves. And for a 😂 emoji lol. Dude followed me into the extra butter chat and muted me there over a 😂 emoji. Was muted again for what reason have no clue except that he seems to want to find an excuse to exert his online authority but will overlook the people in chat making disparaging remarks labeling me as a 🤡 and announce to the rest of the chat that they blocked me. Some high school musical activity. 😂 But the mod Dave don’t seem to have a problem overlooking the disrespectful comments. All over some damn movie recommendations claimed as spam when they can’t even articulate the proper term for it in anything it’s “flooding” and not spamming. A few members wirh conspiracy theories as to what my true intentions are. One dude went as far as to try and google my username and found results for forums and websites with MovieVerse int the title basically stalking another member to play some Colombo 😂 Thats str8 up online harassment but just mostly creepy activity. Cancelled my membership and unsubscribed easy peasy. Tell your mods to do better and actually investigate what the core issue is and resolve it in a just fashion and stop with the vendetta behavior. I have a pretty good idea why there was such an uproar nothing to do with the recommendations or posts but rather who was submitting them. 😂 Deuces. ✌🏻😏
Hi_MovieVerse
2025-04-30 17:51:33 +0000 UTCGreat reaction! I was wondering, do you always rent the movie from a streaming service, even if you have the DVD/blu-ray/4k blu-ray? Is it so that we can be sure to get the exact same version?
DWG15
2025-04-30 17:41:46 +0000 UTCCloser is an amazing movie. Great performances from all 4 actors.
bknsty14
2025-04-30 16:38:48 +0000 UTCGary Oldman wanted to be very raw and experimental with this role. For the apartment scene he only knew how he would start with the pills and how he would end saying “Bingo.” Everything else would be a surprise to him and the entire crew. And the great guitarist Dominic Miller wrote the into for Sting’s “Shape of My Heart” played at the very end of this film. It is such a memorable and amazing riff, Juice Wrld later sampled it for their big hit “Lucid Dreams” in 2017.
Steve Holton
2025-04-30 16:29:33 +0000 UTCYes, this film was greenlit based on the American success of the director’s French film “La Femme Nikitia” which also inspired the plot. In “La Femme Nikita” Jean Reno also plays a “Cleaner” and the role was such a standout in that film, the director wanted to expand and explore the possibilities of Jean Reno playing a cleaner in a “Lone Wolf and Cub” scenario. As Cassie said in her outro Reno’s take is refreshingly absent the stylized posing so often portrayed on screen for contract killer roles. He’s not trying to be cool, if anything he is reluctant for the work.
Steve Holton
2025-04-30 16:24:10 +0000 UTCUnhinged is the word I have used to describe Gary "Oldham's" character in this, and because it's been a while, that's probably a bit mild. Mr. Oldman is a favourite of mine and he is in that class of actor that is always very good regardless of the overall quality of the movie. As it has been a while, forgot about the Sting song at the end. Felt very "Lethal Weapon 3". Seeing Danny Aiello ("Tony") always makes me think of "Hudson Hawk"... oh, to get that on the channel. Fits into a poll idea about movies that are "so bad, they are good", everybody has one of those.
Mojo One Thousand
2025-04-30 15:53:40 +0000 UTCCheck her Letterbox, Cassie has seen Man on Fire.
Joe J
2025-04-30 15:30:03 +0000 UTCAlways liked this movie. I was in college when it came out and for its US release it was called THE PROFESSIONAL (internationally it was known a simply LEON). I had seen TV spots for it and thinking it looked like another unoriginal cliche action flick (this was shortly after the release of Stallone's THE SPECIALIST), but when I did watch it, I was surprised at how stylish and emotional it was. It was the first film I saw directed by French filmmaker Luc Besson (who also did THE FIFTH ELEMENT) and it was my introduction to Jean Reno, Gary Oldman (who plays, I think, one of the greatest and truly frightening movie villains of all time) and, of course, Natalie Portman who is just phenomenal (I thought to myself at the time, "I don't know who this kid is, but keep an eye on her. She is going to be a star."). So glad you got a chance to watch this (grateful that you watched the longer cut) and pleased that it sounds like you enjoyed it. Looking forward to watching this reaction.
Stick Figure Studios
2025-04-30 15:24:08 +0000 UTC"Natalie Portman! She should be in everything. Kay, bye" 😆 I don't disagree, especially the version of myself when I was 18 in 2002. I remember after I saw Attack of the Clones teenage me started visiting her fansite everyday for a few years, and with AOTC's marketing, she was everywhere in the press for a while, and I was listening to AOTC "Across the Stars" (love theme) soundtrack like crazy! Again, and again and again till I got sick of it. That was what the summer after my high school senior year was like, lol. I also knew a girl at the time who looked a bit like her, we were in a garage band and she was the drummer.
YodatheHobbit
2025-04-30 15:04:45 +0000 UTCAnd then Gary oldman also played Beethoven.
Stick Figure Studios
2025-04-30 14:49:00 +0000 UTCI prefer the extended cut myself.
Stick Figure Studios
2025-04-30 14:48:34 +0000 UTCI like French Kiss.
Clay F
2025-04-30 14:29:50 +0000 UTCGlad you reacted to the extended cut b/c I was curious. I streamed on Amazon Prime. Agree that Natalie Portman did incredibly good acting -- and at 12 years old. Hard to believe she is almost 44 now. Gary Oldman did well. I am still processing the movie. Good acting. Good action. Interesting writing. I like that Mathilda mentioned Thelma & Louise. I don't know if you remember the creepy character that Gary Oldman played in True Romance -- almost unrecognizable. I need to check out Slow Horses. I noticed you've seen Darkest Hour (2017) -- Gary Oldman incredible in that (w/Lily James). Mathilda's dad cut the dope (initially pure) in that he took 10% of the pure for himself and replaced w/powder that doesn't get you high giving the full amount as then 90% pure. The dope was cut (diluted) from 100% pure to 90% pure. I wish Leon would have more plainly (in words) rejected her intimate advances (which fortunately led nowhere). I think he said "we can't" and that's about it. Maybe he was too awkward of a guy in that respect to articulate more. Their embraces or relationship generally did not seem sensual to me but instead non-sensual tender, or I would have turned off the movie.
Clay F
2025-04-30 14:26:54 +0000 UTCFavorite movie with Jean Reno is “French Kiss.” I said what I said.
Uncle Phoenix
2025-04-30 14:22:32 +0000 UTC🥴🥴 just loooked up the director stuff
Cassie
2025-04-30 13:26:33 +0000 UTCGreat reaction. I really enjoyed it. Gary Oldman was amazing. I know it's somewhere on your list, but if you liked this one, I think you might like Man on Fire with Denzel Washington.
Michael West
2025-04-30 13:15:37 +0000 UTCI just started watching the reaction, but had to stop. It seems my pupils are still too dilated from earlier today for such an activity. That said, hearing Cassie try to pronounce Jean Reno made me chime in with a quick note before I forget. For English speakers, Jean is pronounced something like “Zhahn”. With the "zh" sounding like the s in treasure, and the rest roughly rhyming with John. Also, given his French movies are unlikely to ever get a reaction, I can highly recommend watching him in RONIN one day, where he is starring alongside Robert De Niro. It is a true hidden gem from the 90s, an excellent heist/thriller movie.
Gábor Árki
2025-04-30 13:00:56 +0000 UTCHi Cassie.. great reaction as always. So the scene where Gary Oldman says EVERYONE! was actually meant to be a joke.. Gary Oldman said in an interview that he said the line that way as a joke to make the outtake reel .. the director liked it so much that he kept it in the movie.
Johnny Bullis
2025-04-30 13:00:43 +0000 UTCCloser (2004), Black Swan (2010), and Anywhere But Here (1999) are some other great Natalie Portman performances. She's a legit actress and movie star.
Chris Thom
2025-04-30 12:51:20 +0000 UTCThis is the movie that made me fall in line with Gary Oldman, Jean Reno, and Natalie Portman. Jean Reno is criminally underrated since he’s mainly a French actor, but highly recommend everyone search him out. And I mean EVERYONE!!!!
Blake Evans
2025-04-30 12:33:53 +0000 UTCEVVVVEEERRRYYYYONNNE!!!! Can think of lots of different reasons to love Gary Oldman, but the first time I saw this I never would've guessed how iconic this single line would become; shouldn't complain in retrospect, but as a movie fan I still find it a travesty that Oldman did not get his first Oscar nomination until Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy which came out in 2011...was the Academy asleep or something? How do you ignore an actor of his caliber for all that time? SMH
JL_83
2025-04-30 12:30:59 +0000 UTCI just always found the creepy crush on Leon and the directors real life issues to be too much to handle when watching this movie
Choof
2025-04-30 12:29:34 +0000 UTCJust pointing out here that the "find your own copy" link is to the JustWatch of the one hour 51 minute theatrical version, not the extended version that Cassie watches in this reaction. Having said that, its off to somehow find a copy of the extended I can watch. This looks to be a "can't miss" reaction! Edit: And as I start watching this, this is not about a serial killer, its about a professional hitman, or assassin if you will. 2nd Edit: OK, Cassie gets it. I'll stop now. 😂
MikeLL
2025-04-30 12:18:33 +0000 UTCThink I need to finally see this. This seems like a good opportunity. Going to look for it on streaming. Didn't realize how much people loved it until I started on reaction channels.
Chris Thom
2025-04-30 12:06:32 +0000 UTCThis extended cut ruined this movie for me. The normal cut was an amazing movie. The extended cut was filled with horrible cheesy scenes. Hope this doesn’t sour the movie for those who have only seen this version.
K V
2025-04-30 12:05:04 +0000 UTCHaha! I see what you did there.
Ike
2025-04-30 12:01:04 +0000 UTCI think that mainly applies on the international stage, where he's best known for Léon and mostly supporting roles. But he is a much more household name in French cinema and well known across Europe from those roles. I first known him from movies like Les Visiteurs and its sequels (which actually had an inferior American remake called Just Visiting, where he reprised his role), L’Opération Corned-Beef, Wasabi, Tais-toi!, L’Enquête corse, etc.
Gábor Árki
2025-04-30 11:55:58 +0000 UTCAlways like this.
Jacob King
2025-04-30 11:48:10 +0000 UTCYes, Natalie was awesome, great movie. Looking forward to it!
clutchkman
2025-04-30 11:23:17 +0000 UTCI think Stansfield is the most evil character Gary Oldman has played. A zero kelvin level of cold. 🥶 Everything from the pill popping to the sniffing to the killing. Calm, calculated psychopath. Even his own men are afraid of him. Sometimes I wonder what Beethoven piece he's playing in his head during "the storm". Gary should've been nominated for his performance.
Zane From Canada
2025-04-30 11:22:49 +0000 UTCJean Reno is so underrated. I miss him being in more movies, he had a great presence. La Femme Nikita is another good film you should check out. Same director.
Night King01
2025-04-30 11:18:50 +0000 UTCOften overlooked for Gary Oldman's psychotic turn as the bent copper, a far cry from his current lazy, flatulent role as Jackson Lamb. I recall the film was called Leon, it had to be altered to over describe who/what he was for some audiences in certain countries. I'm sure someone here will know the history of it's title.
fargoboyle .
2025-04-30 11:16:31 +0000 UTCThe film was originally released in the US under the title THE PROFESSIONAL, while its original international title was LÉON. The extended cut - often mistakenly referred to be the international cut - was actually released only a few years later, in 1996, and is titled LÉON: THE PROFESSIONAL. PS: I recently binged all seasons of Slow Horses based on the recommendation and quite enjoyed it. Oldman is an amazing actor and a true chameleon. He is one of those rare actors who have such a great range and vastly different looks that he's almost unrecognizable from role to role.
Gábor Árki
2025-04-30 11:14:45 +0000 UTCEveryone needs to see this. EVERYONE.
Brian McGovern
2025-04-30 11:03:28 +0000 UTCNatalie’s first role was fantastic!
Wes
2025-04-30 11:03:12 +0000 UTC
