Most critics come down in favour of Léon, and the praise gathers in the same places. Luc Besson’s direction is called stylish and visually striking, with the photography singled out more than once. The three leads are the other constant: Jean Reno’s lonely hitman, Natalie Portman’s sharp-tongued Mathilda in her debut, and Gary Oldman’s lurid, energetic turn as the psychotic DEA agent. Several reviews are surprised to find the friendship at the centre moving.
The reservations sit almost entirely on the child. The spread is wide: two American critics writing on release, at RogerEbert.com and the Los Angeles Times, regard putting a twelve-year-old at the heart of a slick urban thriller as exploitation, the latter in the strongest terms. Others find the relationship stays just the right side of creepy. Gratuitous violence and an improbable plot are noted but forgiven. Later British reviews are the warmest, and The AV Club argues the uncut version is the stronger film.