Watch Point of No Return For Free

Very disappointing...

The acting in this movie is really good.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

After drug addict Maggie kills a policeman she is sentenced to death. She is 'executed' but then wakes up to be told she has a choice either she can work for the state or her execution will take place for real. Supervised by 'Bob' her training then begins; she is taught how to behave properly and how to kill. She is not an easy student but eventually passes her final test. Finally she is allowed to leave the training facility and is told to move to Venice Beach and wait further instructions. Time passes and she gets in a relationship with a local man before finally being given her first job. Shortly afterwards 'Uncle Bob' turns up and gives his 'niece' two tickets to New Orleans for Mardi Gras… of course it turns out to be another job. By now Maggie has become more human, the job bothers her on a moral level and she doesn't want her boyfriend caught up in it; Bob tells her that there is no way out of her job. Inevitably she gets given another task… this time things don't go according to plan.When I first watched this in the cinema I really enjoyed this… at the time I hadn't seen 'Nikita'. Having seen both it is clear that this is more than 'based on' it is a very close remake; a few details are changed but not many. While I think the original is the superior film this is still pretty solid and I'll try to review it on its own merits. The story is solid and the main characters are believable despite the unlikely situation. Bridget Fonda does an impressive job as Maggie making her sympathetic despite the way she starts out. She is ably supported by Gabriel Byrne as 'Bob'; Anne Bancroft, as Amanda her etiquette coach; Dermot Mulroney as boyfriend JP and Miguel Ferrer as Bob's boss, who is not a fan of Maggie. There is also an impressively sinister turn from Harvey Keitel as Victor the Cleaner. The action is impressive with shootings, some martial arts and other fights. While there are a few disturbing moments, there is nothing too bad. Overall this is a solid action thriller and while I'd recommend watching 'Nikita' this is worth watching if you don't like subtitles, like any of the main actors involved or just want to compare the films.

Directed by Luc Besson, "La Femme Nikita" was an overwhelming action/romance/thriller and Pygmalion story that scored big in the French box-office and got an enthusiastic reception across the Atlantic. Indeed, Roger Ebert praised the powerful performance of Anne Parillaud and the bleak melancholy of the film while Gene Siskel loved the way the film approached violence in a sort of subterranean way, the film made it appealing and stylish but through a character who didn't enjoy killing, and that was the mark of great thriller, it's not about mindless and enjoyed violence, in the case of Nikita, it was a survival tool but also the key of an existential cage. So their comments comforted my thoughts, it was one of the best 90's French movies.It was interesting to compare this to their reception of John Badham's remake "Point of No Return": Ebert was pleasantly surprised that a film which is a clear copy of the original (with a few changes here and there) managed to elevate itself above its 'remake' status and was more engaging and compelling than he expected. While not in the same vein of Anne Parillaud's vulnerable performance, Bridget Fonda did justice to the role, and the film managed to grab his interest and make him feel for the girl, whose code-name became Nina, in homage to Nina Simone, one of the film's touches of originality. Ebert loved the way the film distanced itself when it was possible (not at the key moments though), that she was sentenced to death after shooting a cop (in the original, she was just randomly 'killed') and overall, he liked it. Siskel didn't, he thought the attempts to capture the atmosphere of the first film was phony, and never hit an emotional chord like Besson's film did. So it was a split vote.And I guess,that's the effect "Point of No Return" will have, it's a mixed bag. Either you like it or you don't, but it's not that simple. In case you didn't see "La Femme Nikita", you might enjoy the remake but then reconsider your appreciation after watching the '(objectively) superior original. And in my opinion, watching the original first is perhaps the best service you can do to the remake, because I don't think the remake ever tries to overshadow it, it has no other ambition to be an Americanized version of a French movie and it does a fair job at that, which is more than you can say about American remakes. Several French classics have been remade into Hollywood movies and more than often, they're never as successful or they're not as good. For one "Sorcerer" or "Birdcage", you get "The Man With One Red Shoe", "Pure Luck'", "The Dinner Game" and "Father's Day". But since Besson's material had an American quality of its own, remaking it mainly consisted on adapting an international looking story with an American cast.And that's why it works, Bridget Fonda is no Anne Parillaud but as Nina, she exuded the same mix of sadness and commitment to her job that made the character so fascinating. And she was surrounded by a quality cast, Gabriel Byrne reprised Tcheky Karyo's mentor role as Bob, Miguel Ferrer is the boss who leaves no secret about his sentiment toward Nina, Anne Bancroft steals the show reprising the role of Jeanne Moreau (and yeah, there's something very fitting in Bancroft replacing the eternal French cougar) and Dermot Mulroney is a fair replacement for the boyfriend part, did I forget one? Oh yeah, Harvey Keitel while really intimidating as the Cleaner, can't be compared to Jean Reno, that's no comment on Keitel's acting, he'll be a far more efficient cleaner the next year as Mr. Wolf in Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction". It's not the 90's A-list star cast but they're all talented actors taking their roles seriously and I didn't really get Siskel's impression of phoniness. To each his own.But I'm making this review obviously meant for users who saw the original, I think it's the best advice I can give, watch it first. You know why? Because one of the things I loved about Besson's film is that it was a great thriller as far as unpredictable things went, it was full of surprises, sometimes thrilling, sometimes funny, exciting and even emotional. These elements are all handled very well by Besson who was at his prime as young 30-ish director, John Badham doesn't take any risk and his directing isn't really transcending, but the film works nonetheless. So, if there's one surprise effect to be spoiled, better to be from the less stylish one. But it won't ruin the enjoyment of the second for all that, because I enjoyed anticipating the scenes and seeing how Fonda, Byrne or any other actor handled them, it was fun to see the film and superpose it with the original experience and look for the few differences between them.And there were many differences, and perhaps the best one was the music, there were Nina Simone's songs used as a fine leitmotif, representing the only connection with Nina and her previous life, but then there's the score. The film is scored by Hans Zimmer and it's one of the most penetrative and emotional scores I've heard recently, it does enhance the character of Nina and adds to her tragic dimension, and it's used in very key moments where you're just about to label the film as action picture and all magically, the music gets in your ears, and you're literally transported. Well, maybe it's the one thing it got better than the first, and that's saying a lot since Eric Serra's score was great, too.So, it might not be in the same league than the first but that's not saying much since we're talking of a masterpiece, yet it's a good American remake of a French film and that's saying a lot, since they generally suck.

Bridget Fonda is a murderous, drug-addicted wreck who is saved from execution by Gabriel Byrne, an agent for one of those secret government organizations that assassinate people who are disliked. She's recruited as an assassin for the rest of her life or until she outlives her usefulness. She grows dissatisfied with her job.First of all, make up has done its best to turn Fonda into a violently psychopathic and beat-up dreg. And she STILL doesn't look bad. How could she, with that architecturally perfect bone structure? And when they're done training her -- teaching her to speak properly, how to kill with your flying feet, which wine to order with which meal, turning her into a blond -- she looks devastating. And the director has the good taste to have her running around in underpants half the time.Byrne with his crepuscular Irish voice and dark features is fine as her manager but he doesn't have to do very much. Once in a while he does his best to smile and one can hear the creaking of joints long unused. Alas, Fonda's love, Dermot Mulroney, is a thorough-going lightweight as an actor. And the script doesn't help him a bit. As his girl friend with a secret, Fonda is in their bathroom preparing to assassinate another stranger through the window, while, out in the bedroom, he's proposing they get engaged. Great tension in this scene. If we didn't know it already, the musical score pounds it into us.Here is poor Fonda assembling a complicated ugly rifle in the bathroom, her eyes filled with tears, while on the other side of the door, in a state of abject innocence, Mulroney begs for her reply. Get these lines. "Don't you think I deserve an answer?" And, "We need to talk about this." Now, I hate to point out the obvious, but no normal man would ever say anything resembling this. Women say things like that, but men do not say things like that.By the end -- by the time Harvey Keitel shows up to re-do his role as "the cleaner" from "Pulp Fiction" -- the director sensibly throws away all this role-conflict business and turns the movie into the action flick that it has yearned to be from the beginning.Once you accept the film for what it is, once you can bring yourself to ablate the presence of Dermot Mulroney and enjoy the sight of Keitel being scraped to death under the spinning tires of a racing car -- well, then, you've got it made.

US thriller finely directed by John Badham about a violent junkie who becomes undercover assassin . Exciting and stirring movie that was formerly adapted in French style by Luc Besson , dealing with an once-amoral street urchin become into a gorgeous woman of sensitivity and depth . A gang of armed drug-addicts break into a shop to try and steal drugs to fuel their habit and then takes place a bloody tour of force . However, the police arrive too fast and all addicts but one are killed . The hardened criminal (Bridget Fonda , role previously acted by Anne Parillaud and Bridget was cast after Jodie Foster and Winona Ryder turned it down) , a punk-junkie sociopath acts with consistence violence , even in police custody and is given a life sentence . Having killed a cop when the theft gone awry is condemned to death row but she is reprieved by a strange organization . After being drugged by her captors she wakes up to find that she has been spared in order to train her as a government assassin . However, top-secret agency official (a Svengali alike ,Gabriel Byrne , interpreted in the French version by Tcheky Karyo and Antonio Banderas was considered for the role of Bob) arranges a stage , so she can be elaborately trained as phantom killer and subdued into obedience in order to enroll in a governing finishing school. After a dramatic transformation in which she is trained in etiquette , she is allowed to leave and start a new life for herself . On her eventual release she turns into a sophisticated girl thanks to an old lady (Anne Bancroft , role also acted by Jeanne Moreau) . As a cover, she gets a new identity and with a new beau , all the while carrying out agency-mandated assassinations. And with a wonderful house-mate, a broad-minded, gentle boyfriend (Dermot Mulroney , previously performed by Jean Hugues Anglade) . The two fall in love, but that complicates jobs. His good influence extends to breeding her a conscience that puts love over business, alas unlike agency. However, she begins to discover that there is more to life than she previously thought and soon begins to wish she could escape from her obligation. But the government aren't so easy to evade .This exciting noir-thriller is packed with thrills , tension , suspense and lots of noisy action . From start to finish the action pace is fast moving , provides fast and furious entertainment with spectacular scenes . This is a stylish and particular version of Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw , including a master played by Gabriel Byrne and his disciple performed by Bridget Fonda . Displays nonstop action and is extremely entertaining and thrilling . Some scenes are brutal and with a load of violence. Still it's a good movie, I think furthermore the incredible chemistry between Gabriel Byrne and Bridget Fonda ,the plot was moving and intense , it makes you want to know what happens after . Bridget is pretty good as the heroine who turns in violent tendencies to patriotic use , both as the anti-social rebel of the early scenes and the sophisticated, seductive young lady of the later ones ; a bitterly ironic moral evolution for a contract killer . It benefits enormously from a memorably assured performances such as Miguel Ferrer as Kaufman , Anne Bancroft as Amanda , Olivia d'Abo as Angela Richard Romanus as Fahd Bahktiar and Harvey Keitel as Victor the Cleaner . In addition a cameo by the same director John Badham as a room-service waiter . Atmospheric musical score by Hans Zimmer , though with excessive use of synthesizer . Colorful cinematography by Michael Watkins and perfectly remastered , including his cameo as last guard at the gate during the escape. The motion picture was lavishly produced and professionally directed by John Badham with his ordinary visual pyrotechnics but with no originality , being a simple copy from original film ; having directed one episode of recent Nikita series . However , Luc Besson declined the opportunity to remake his French hit Nikita. Other versions about Nikita character are the followings : ¨Nikita¨ series produced by Jay Firestone with Peta Wilson , Roy Dupois , Matthew Ferguson and Alberta Watson ; and Nikita (52 episodes, 2010-2013) with Maggie Q , Shane West as Michael , Lyndsy Fonseca and Aaron Stanford .