Everyone has seen movies like this. You take an average hard nose killer (in this case, a milk-drinking hit man) and match him with an adorable 7 to 13-year-old. Mix in an endless supply of bullets, explosions and bad guys and you have a bad rehash of all the good movies that “The Professional” tries to imitate.
Jean Reno portrays a detached hit man named Leon, a bizarre mix between Rambo and Rainman whose strange idiosyncrasies act only as a distraction from the rest of the film. Reno reluctantly takes on 12-year-old Matilda (played by Natalie Portman) as an apprentice after her family is murdered by a group of corrupt DEA officers.
Portman, of course, wants retribution for her family and convinces Reno to teach her the ropes of hired killing. And, of course, the pair goes forth and attempts to beat the odds. The rest of the movie is almost insultingly predictable.
Screen veteran Danny Aiello also makes an appearance. His character, Tony, acts like a middleman for Reno’s contracts. However, not even Aiello’s performance can snatch this movie from the gaping jaws of cinematic obscurity.
There were, in fact, some scenes that were rather well done as was the camera work in the opening sequence. Unfortunately, all else considered, “The Professional” was a waste of time, money and celluloid.
Jones is a sophomore at Christopher Newport University majoring in commercial art.
