Point of No Return (1993)

People are voting emotionally.

Overrated and overhyped

Absolutely the worst movie.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

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.

Disappointing American remake of the French action classic LA FEMME NIKITA, this by-the-by action affair contains far too much talk and only two or three actually exciting scenes of action. These outbreaks of violence are refreshingly well photographed and well choreographed with it, but the majority of the film focuses on unwanted characterisation and even sentimentalising - pointless in a supposed thriller such as this.Amid the pointless bickering and stifling debate, we actually have some pretty good actors hiding here who lend more credence to their lines than they really should. In particular, Gabriel Byrne excels as Fonda's softly-spoken mentor with an eye on her wellbeing. Dermot Mulroney is also fine in a sympathetic role, while Harvey Keitel is superb as "the cleaner", a character who disposes of corpses by pouring acid on their faces! One of my favourite actors, Miguel Ferrer, pops up but is criminally underused in a corporate role that requires him to sit behind a desk and do nothing. On top of all this, there's even a cameo by Geoffrey Lewis. Sadly, the fine acting of these people is overshadowed by that of Bridget Fonda, who is truly pathetic as the guilt-stricken female assassin. Not only is Fonda far too thin and weedy to convince as a trained killer, her acting skills are limited and simply not enough to carry the film upon.Despite some nifty action scenes, full of shooting and explosions, this is disappointingly shallow stuff. Sure, it passes the time and is photographed well enough to at least LOOK good, but behind it all you simply have to wonder what the point was when the film had already been made once. A missed opportunity.

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.

The movie is tagged as "action, "crime", and "thriller". All of these tags are massively misleading...It's actually a DRAMA! Nothing more, nothing less.Bridget Fonda is very cute; I adore her. She's a very talented actress and her charisma is undeniable. She was EXCELLENT in this movie -- no doubt about that.But... I expected a thriller... with some action. What I got was a lame love story.The movie is 80% romantic scenes and 20% action. Not what I expected.It started out VERY promising, but when she gets involved with that cheesy dude... the movie declines in an instant and becomes boring, predictable, and, eventually, downright unwatchable.Oh, why did they have to ruin such a good premise by introducing all that LAME romantic crap!? It could've been such a great film.What a shame...