Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

HeadlinesExotic Boring

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Bulletcatcher See "La Femme Nikita" (1990). Don't bother with this craptastic ripoff. Seriously.This is a really, really poorly done remake. It should not have been made at all.Do I sound like a fanboy? Well, yes, I am - the original is an excellent film, in my opinion. This is a poor excuse for a film. The talents of talented actors Harvey Keitel and Gabriel Byrne are utterly wasted. Bridget Fonda is not believable at all as the main character.The weapons used in the film were not researched by anyone in the props department. They grabbed guns they thought looked "cool." A .22 match pistol used in place of a big-bore .50 cal Desert Eagle for a close-in assassination, a .22 match rifle used in place of a suppressed Steyr AUG A1. Seriously, this movie is ridiculous flash over substance.Just don't waste your time on this junk.

Comeuppance Reviews When a wild, untamed woman named Maggie (Fonda) gets on the wrong side of the law due to her criminal activities and is going to be executed, a mysterious man known only as "Bob" (Byrne) steps in and stays the execution. He takes her to a secret training camp to be schooled in the ways of assassination. She learns everything from marksmanship to how to use a computer mouse. After being sent on various missions after graduating from the school, she meets J.P. (Mulroney), her building's manager, and the two strike up a romantic relationship. However, her secret life as a killer still beckons, and she has to choose what type of life she wants to lead. Does Maggie have the ability to pick another path in life, or has she reached the POINT OF NO RETURN? Point of No Return, as we all know, is a remake of Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita (1990), which had only come out three years earlier. PONR is slick, Hollywood action all the way, and the 109-minute running time does signal that this is a mainstream release that went to movie theaters. The sort of Hollywoodized action on show here is what director John Badham has come to be known for, and this is a good example of that style, if that's what you're looking for. Besides the technical aspects, which are of a high standard, probably the best thing about PONR is the cast. Bridget Fonda shows she can be an action lead, and has versatility in a role that demands her to do a variety of different things. She's basically the Eliza Doolittle in a situation where Pygmalion/My Fair Lady meets shooting and blow-ups. During her "assassin training" her room is decorated with Pantera and Red Hot Chili Peppers posters and she watches at least one Headbangers Ball-style music video. When she goes food shopping it's reminiscent of the classic game show Supermarket Sweep, and she gets to show off a bit of humor as well. Gabriel Byrne as her handler and Dermot Mulroney as the love interest are there to support her, though it's easy to confuse the latter with Dylan McDermott. Or perhaps Costas or Louis Mandylor. Miguel Ferrer and Anne Bancroft provide further support, though it would've been nice to see Bancroft shooting people. Sadly, she doesn't do any action scenes. She just teaches Maggie to act "like a lady". What a missed opportunity. Harvey Keitel doesn't show up until 88 minutes into the movie - a point when a lot of other movies would've been over already - and is gone by 98 minutes in. That's right, just ten minutes, and he's not even in every scene in those minutes. It's nice to see people skating around Venice Beach on day-glo rollerblades, and using classic Apple computers. However, the film takes its sweet time and there are long gaps in between action scenes. By the time we get to the love story between J.P. and Maggie we were starting to see why the movie was 109 minutes. To keep up the energy, there should have been at least a few more brief action scenes. Maybe Anne Bancroft could have been involved in them. Also, the great song of the same name by Nu Shooz should have been in the movie somewhere, perhaps during a training montage. Another missed opportunity. In the end, Point of No Return is mainstream action fare - it certainly could have used some more streamlining, and some additional edge would have been nice, but it's ideal for a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Spikeopath Point of No return (AKA: The Assassin) is directed by John Badham and written by Robert Getchell and Alexander Seros. It stars Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, Dermot Mulroney, Anne Bancroft and Harvey Keitel. Music is by Hans Zimmer and cinematography (Panavision/Technicolor) by Michael Ferris and Michael Watkins.When drug addict Maggie Hayward (Fonda) kills a policeman in cold blood, she is promptly sentenced to death by lethal injection. But maybe there is an out? A chance to work for the government? Why so serious?A remake of Luc Besson's Nikita, this was always going to suffer the usual remake taunts of why bother? Was it necessary etc? Point of No Return is a good honest action movie, it has style to burn, nifty photography and likable leading actors. The action is well staged and thrilling - and Hong Kongish in style, and bubbling away in the writing are themes of identity, absent parents and a delicately off-kilter oedipal angle. The Nina Simone soundtrack is terrific, while Zimmer works around Nina's songs with an aural assuredness that grabs the attention.It doesn't push any boundaries, and although it has been noted in some neo-noir circles, it is only a borderline entry in that style of film making. But if kinetic is a good word for you, and ultra violence gives you a shot in the arm, then Bridget and her guns are definitely worth a first date at least. 6/10

ma-cortes US thriller finely directed by John Badham about a violent junkie who becomes undercover assassin . Exciting and stirring movie that was formerly adapted in French style by Luc Besson , dealing with an once-amoral street urchin become into a gorgeous woman of sensitivity and depth . A gang of armed drug-addicts break into a shop to try and steal drugs to fuel their habit and then takes place a bloody tour of force . However, the police arrive too fast and all addicts but one are killed . The hardened criminal (Bridget Fonda , role previously acted by Anne Parillaud and Bridget was cast after Jodie Foster and Winona Ryder turned it down) , a punk-junkie sociopath acts with consistence violence , even in police custody and is given a life sentence . Having killed a cop when the theft gone awry is condemned to death row but she is reprieved by a strange organization . After being drugged by her captors she wakes up to find that she has been spared in order to train her as a government assassin . However, top-secret agency official (a Svengali alike ,Gabriel Byrne , interpreted in the French version by Tcheky Karyo and Antonio Banderas was considered for the role of Bob) arranges a stage , so she can be elaborately trained as phantom killer and subdued into obedience in order to enroll in a governing finishing school. After a dramatic transformation in which she is trained in etiquette , she is allowed to leave and start a new life for herself . On her eventual release she turns into a sophisticated girl thanks to an old lady (Anne Bancroft , role also acted by Jeanne Moreau) . As a cover, she gets a new identity and with a new beau , all the while carrying out agency-mandated assassinations. And with a wonderful house-mate, a broad-minded, gentle boyfriend (Dermot Mulroney , previously performed by Jean Hugues Anglade) . The two fall in love, but that complicates jobs. His good influence extends to breeding her a conscience that puts love over business, alas unlike agency. However, she begins to discover that there is more to life than she previously thought and soon begins to wish she could escape from her obligation. But the government aren't so easy to evade .This exciting noir-thriller is packed with thrills , tension , suspense and lots of noisy action . From start to finish the action pace is fast moving , provides fast and furious entertainment with spectacular scenes . This is a stylish and particular version of Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw , including a master played by Gabriel Byrne and his disciple performed by Bridget Fonda . Displays nonstop action and is extremely entertaining and thrilling . Some scenes are brutal and with a load of violence. Still it's a good movie, I think furthermore the incredible chemistry between Gabriel Byrne and Bridget Fonda ,the plot was moving and intense , it makes you want to know what happens after . Bridget is pretty good as the heroine who turns in violent tendencies to patriotic use , both as the anti-social rebel of the early scenes and the sophisticated, seductive young lady of the later ones ; a bitterly ironic moral evolution for a contract killer . It benefits enormously from a memorably assured performances such as Miguel Ferrer as Kaufman , Anne Bancroft as Amanda , Olivia d'Abo as Angela Richard Romanus as Fahd Bahktiar and Harvey Keitel as Victor the Cleaner . In addition a cameo by the same director John Badham as a room-service waiter . Atmospheric musical score by Hans Zimmer , though with excessive use of synthesizer . Colorful cinematography by Michael Watkins and perfectly remastered , including his cameo as last guard at the gate during the escape. The motion picture was lavishly produced and professionally directed by John Badham with his ordinary visual pyrotechnics but with no originality , being a simple copy from original film ; having directed one episode of recent Nikita series . However , Luc Besson declined the opportunity to remake his French hit Nikita. Other versions about Nikita character are the followings : ¨Nikita¨ series produced by Jay Firestone with Peta Wilson , Roy Dupois , Matthew Ferguson and Alberta Watson ; and Nikita (52 episodes, 2010-2013) with Maggie Q , Shane West as Michael , Lyndsy Fonseca and Aaron Stanford .