The Professional

Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman and Danny Aiello star in Leon the Professional, a go-for-broke thriller about a professional assassin whose work becomes dangerously personal. Calling himself a "cleaner," the mysterious Léon is New York's top hit man. When his next-door neighbors are murdered, Léon becomes the unwilling guardian of the family's sole survivor - 12-year-old Mathilda. But Mathilda doesn't just want protection; she wants revenge. Training her in the deadly tricks of his trade, Léon helps her track the psychotic agent who murdered her family. From the electrifying opening to the fatal finale, Leon the Professional, is a nonstop crescendo of action, suspense and surprises. Experience the uncut version, with 24 minutes of footage not included in the original U.S. theatrical version.

Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) made his American directorial debut with this stylized thriller about an Italian hit man (Jean Reno) who takes in an American girl (Natalie Portman) being pursued by a corrupt killer cop (Gary Oldman). Oldman is a little more unhinged than he should be, but there is something genuinely irresistible about the story line and the relationship between Reno and Portman. Rather than cave in to the cookie-cutter look and feel of American action pictures, Besson brings a bit of his glossy style from French hits La Femme Nikita and Subway to the production, and the results are refreshing even if the bullets and explosions are awfully familiar. --Tom Keogh