Synopsis
Drugged-out, hyper-aggressive street punk Nikita (Anne Parillaud) is recruited (whether shelikes it or not) by a top-secret government agency. The first act of the film sees her rebelliousnature gradually being channelled by Tcheky Karyo, and Nikita becomes a glamorous assassin.The action scenes are terrific (so much so that John Badham replicated them shot-for-shot in theremake Point of No Return), and the flick, as with all Besson pictures, has style to burn. I’venever be…n satisfied with Nikita’s rather sudden transformation from rabid dog to moral humanbeing, but the top-of-the-line violent excess of the rest of the movie makes up for this.
Audio
Excellent sound, in both French and English 5.1. The English dubbing job is okay as thesethings go, but is still flattens the performances and is distinctly inferior to the original French.Eric Serra’s music is just as propulsive as it was in the theatres, and the sound effects benefitfrom good placement, with left, right and rear speakers being deployed in ways that work withinthe context of the individual shots.
Video
A fine 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The colours and contrasts are very strong. Thefilm uses a lot of reds and blues, and the pairing up of the two looks simply stunning here. Thereis no grain, and the blacks are nice and deep. There is some very minor edge enhancement visiblein scenes where, for instance, Karyo wears a dark suit in a white room, but that’s about the onlyquibble I can make.
Special Features
Calling this a “Special Edition” pushes the term a bit, since there aren’t that many extras,there is no commentary, and the longest featurette is still only 20 minutes. This last, “Revealed:The Making of La Femme Nikita” is still an interesting look back at the film by most of theprinciples involved. “The Sound of Nikita” is a 5-minute piece about Eric Serra. “ProgrammingNikita” allows you to select three different montages, and is a waste of space. Also on offer area poster gallery and theatrical trailers for Nikita, Die Another Day, The Terminator, and Platoon.The menu’s main page and transitions are animated and scored.
Closing Thoughts
A generally unimpressive set of extras, but an excellent transfer of what is arguably LucBesson’s best film.
Special Features List
- “Revealed: The Making of La Femme Nikita” Documentary
- “The Sound of Nikita” Featurette
- “Programming Nikita” Interactive Map
- Theatrical Trailers
- Poster Gallery
