Today’s quick review: The Professional. Leon (Jean Reno), a ruthlessly efficient hitman with peculiar habits, takes in Mathilda (Natalie Portman), the twelve-year-old girl who lives down the hall, when her family is murdered. As the two find happiness for the first time, Leon begins to think of a life beyond killing. But Mathilda harbors a dangerous desire to get revenge on Stan (Gary Oldman), the eccentric criminal who killed her family.
The Professional is a crime drama with a great cast, a solid script, and odd sensibilities. Mixing a character-driven story, moments of levity, and a few bursts of impressive violence, The Professional delivers an artful and interesting experience. Though several other movies have similar premises, The Professional is one of the few that has an identity of its own and the craftsmanship to back it up.
The Professional strikes a skillful balance between action and realism. Leon is a force of nature, tearing through armed men like tissue paper, yet his mundane character and odd habits make him much more of an ordinary person than the typical action hero. Mathilda walks a similar line: she is troublesome but not annoying, charming but not saccharine, and driven but not hypercompetent. The result is a movie that earns the right to make its own rules.
The cast is responsible for much of The Professional’s quality. Jean Reno plays a realistic and nuanced Leon, plausibly caught between cold-blooded killer and kind-hearted, unassuming man. Natalie Portman shakes things up as Mathilda, a preteen with a troubled background and a growing bond with Leon. For his part, Gary Oldman plays Stan, a dangerous man whose quirks make him unique without spoiling his credibility.
The Professional does have a few tradeoffs. The plot is basic and slow-paced. The limited cast restricts the world to a few well-fleshed-out characters, rather than the living, breathing settings found in The Boondock Saints or John Wick. What action there is is enough to make Leon a legend, but the characters, not the action sequences, are the focus.
Watch The Professional if you are at all interested in a well-told drama with good action and a personality of its own. Those looking for a straight action movie will not be disappointed but could probably do better. Those looking for a hybrid of drama and action will be pleasantly surprised. The Professional’s strong execution makes it well worth checking out; whether it tips over into greatness will depend on your expectations and taste.
8.6 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it an 8.0 for all-around high quality.