Product Details

• Actors: Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, Dermot Mulroney, Miguel Ferrer, Anne Bancroft
• Directors: John Badham
• Writers: Alexandra Seros, Luc Besson, Robert Getchell
• Producers: Art Linson, D.J. Caruso, David Sosna, James Herbert
• Format: PAL
• Language: English, French
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Run Time: 109 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004CXI9
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #429,846 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Assassin" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Point of No Return is one of those Hollywood remakes of a European hit in which one can visualize a committee of studio executives sitting around and saying, "Okay, we know what made the original film unique and different and fun. How can we make that same movie and do exactly the opposite?" For-hire director John Badham (Saturday Night Fever) took La Femme Nikita, Luc Besson's undeniably sexy, original, and kitschy French film about a female assassin, and translated it into a calculating, mechanistic American thriller with no distinctive style. Bridget Fonda gamely plays the willowy street punk who becomes a high-society killer, but once that provocative irony is in place, the movie is pretty much a series of by-the-numbers action set pieces. Until, that is, Dermot Mulroney shows up as a love interest; but even that twist can't save this film. You're much better off with the original, subtitles and all. --Tom Keogh

From The New Yorker

John Badham remakes Luc Besson's chic Eurostinker "La Femme Nikita" (1991) as a big, square, stupid American action movie. It's a slight improvement, but so what? Return to sender. With Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, Anne Bancroft, Dermot Mulroney, and Harvey Keitel. -Terrence Rafferty
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GUILTY PLEASURE, March 5, 2000

By 

R. Penola (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Point of No Return [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Yes, La Femme Nikita is the real classic. But after repeated viewings on cable, this movie sneaks up on you. For all of its commercial hype and fake glamour, there are guilty pleasures throughout, not the least of which is the emotional core of the relationship between Bridget Fonda and Gabriel Byrne. Dermot Mulroney is also winning in his underwritten role. The wild premise survives the remake, because it is just so compelling and dramatic, and Anne Bancroft steals every scene she appears in. Give it a try, on its own terms.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars action, romance a winner, January 20, 2007

By 

pebblepuppy (Missouri) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Point of No Return (Snap Case) (DVD)

Bridget Fonda is outstanding in this role. Good mix of tense action and romance. I have recommended it to several friends and they all love it too. It's even better the 2nd time you watch it. It doesn't get stale.
I also "love Nina".

53 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Bridget and Nina..., April 30, 2000

By 

Keith Levenberg (New York, N.Y. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Point of No Return (Snap Case) (DVD)

Although lacking in some respects compared to the French original (you end up hoping that Bridget as assassin will pulverize her whimpering boyfriend with one of those big, big machine guns), Bridget Fonda as the star and Nina Simone with the soulful soundtrack give this movie the edge over La femme Nikita in at least two important departments. Bridget's performance here amazes me every time I see it--simultaneously believable as a feverishly trained assassin and a tragic hero so cute you just want to reach out and pinch her cheeks. But the highest marks go to the soundtrack. The writers of the adaptation wove in Nina Simone as a motif throughout the movie, well-complemented by 5 Nina songs, including "Feeling Good" and a cover of "Here Comes the Sun" tracked to the "relationship" scenes that /ALMOST/ make you forget how much you'd like Bridget to terminate her relationship with extreme prejudice..... Provides soulful reflection absent from the French original, and worth watching more than a few times for that reason alone. Pretentious naysayers say this remake has gone through the Hollywood ringer, but it's an A+ action-flick-plus-morality-tale spun before Quentin Tarantino made it socially acceptable for PBS-watchers to admit they like 'em. Give it a chance.