There are some films that when they come on, no matter how many times you've seen them, you can't help but watch. You sit down to watch the good bits, anticipate the best lines, and maybe even notice something new each time.
For me, one film I can watch over and over is a quintessentially '90s thriller bursting with pulse-pounding shootouts, featuring one of cinema's most iconic hitmen versus a peak Gary Oldman villain. And if that wasn't enough, this ferocious and yet affectingly emotional action flick also introduced the world to Natalie Portman.
I'm talking, of course, about Leon: The Professional.
Leon opens by sweeping across open water, over the skyline of New York and zooming along the streets - which is appropriate because that's exactly what writer and director Luc Besson did.
After the success of genre-bending thriller La Femme Nikita, he came over from France to take on the US. In Leon (titled The Professional in the States), Besson's off-kilter visual style and flair for kinetic action brings something thrillingly fresh to the familiar territory of the American urban crime movie.
Portman made her film debut as Mathilda, a young girl who narrowly escapes the massacre of her sketchy family. As luck would have it, she lives near Leon, a shy mob hitman who mostly leaves the talking to his arsenal of guns.
The grieving child and childlike killer make an odd pairing, but they soon develop a powerful bond that's both strengthened and threatened by Mathilda's plan for Léon to train her up and take revenge on her family's killers.
One of the film's highlights is a truly unhinged performance from Gary Oldman as the villain, a dementedly corrupt cop ("Bring me... EVERYOONNNE!"). Oldman is currently the star of hit Apple TV series Slow Horses, but at the time he was the go-to over-the-top bad guy for assorted action blockbusters. His twitchy, operatic antagonist is the perfect foil to Jean Reno's subtle performance as a near-silent, soulful assassin.
Part shoot-'em-up and part coming-of-age tale, the film's enduring appeal is due in large part to the touching relationship between Portman and Reno. A longer director's cut takes their relationship into ickier territory – especially when you learn more about Besson himself – so this is one instance when it's perhaps better to avoid the director's vision.
Criminally, no streaming services currently carry Leon. However, it is available to rent or buy online in 4K, and if you last saw it on a battered DVD it's well worth getting your hands on the 4K Blu-ray. Colour, detail and cinematography look amazing thanks to a stunning remastered Blu-ray release. The contrast between hushed whispers and explosive gunfire put your sound setup through its paces, while the score is tense and atmospheric.
Alongside films like The Usual Suspects, Reservoir Dogs, and Heat, the mid-1990s was a golden age for crime movies that were both tough and stylish. Drawing on the principles of film noir but shot through with fresh energy, they're always worth revisiting.
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