One of my all time favorites.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

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.

If someone other than Bridget Fonda had the lead, I may not have liked it as much. To me, she's an underrated actress, and at this stage of her career, she was a beauty, with a mesmerizing face you can't take your eyes from. Also, the kind of sexy/skinny bod that I'm not alone in loving in a woman.The story was a little muddled, and Dermot Mulrooney's character was, to me, nothing but annoying. That might just be me, because I'm always annoyed by him.But all in all, a solid 7 thriller/suspense flic, IMO. For comparison, I'd like to see the original French version, from which this was adapted.

I got a chance to re-visit this movie on blu-ray years of having watched it on film, then VHS, I can honestly say...what a rebirth.The set-up is almost a shot-by-shot remake...but BOY does John Badham do it right. I LOVE the look of this movie. This is the reason you shoot movie on film. And why it should also be shot in anamorphic. The transfer is crisp and clean and sharp as a tack. The black is true black. Digital black is AWFUL. The color and contrast is superb to anything the Alexa, Red, or Canon can accomplish. This is a fact. If you can't see it, you're blind.As for the content, it's not terrible re-do for America. The one thing that the original brought to it more succinctly is the clandestine international flair. This seemed a bit...odd. Sure there are covert operators here doing dirty deeds. But it's hard to believe Gabriel Byrne being one of them. Bridget Fonda does a decent job. She plays the tomboy well, however, the sleek sophisticate...not so much. At the time, she was perfect. By the trivia, it seems Halle Berry may've been too young, but a Jodie Foster would've made it much more intellectual.Was there a reason for the remake? Probably not. I recall having watched "Nikita" first, outraged they'd remake it. As I've gotten older, this version is fine.

I've only just discovered this movie and wonder how I've missed it before. I gather from other reviews that it's a remake of a french film 'Nikita' but being ignorant of this original picture I can only say how much I enjoyed this American re-make. I don't really care that a lot of reviewers are comparing the two, so for me, Point of No Return or The Assassin as it's sometimes called gripped me from the first frame to the last, hence my 8 stars. It's such a loss to cinema that Bridget Fonda hasn't made a pic for 12 years because I definitely have a crush on her after watching this and Lake Placid just recently. She reminded me very much of Jodie Foster in this movie and she's my all time favourite, in fact just the sort of thriller that Jodie might make. Bridget plays a soulless killer who is given the death sentence, only to be reprieved by sinister government officials, in order to train her to be a government assassin. Gabriel Byrne also gives a good performance as the main government agent who gradually warms to her. I'm not sure in reality that these sort of people can feel love like normal human beings but if you make a movie you have to find some empathy with the characters or you'll alienate the audience. Harvey keitel and Anne Bancroft add to the star power and the only weak character I thought was Dermot Mulroney as a rather hapless love interest for Bridget. The movie is generally pretty fast paced throughout with plenty of action and violence, but really at the end of the movie, all I could think of was Bridget Fonda.