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On the podcast this time, Steven and Sean are learning how to become badass assassins so we can eventually end up falling in love with charming supermarket patrons in the Luc Besson film from 1990, Nikita.

If this isn\\u2019t the first woman-has-to-choose-between-learning-to-be-an-assassin-or-be-executed film, then it\\u2019s definitely the best of the bunch. It\\u2019s a film that not only helped create a slew of tv shows by the same name, but also surely inspired other filmmakers to try their own hands at creating a fish-out-of-water assassin story.

Considering Besson\\u2019s career, he\\u2019s probably managed that feat several times. You\\u2019ve got to hand it to him, he\\u2019s imaginative as heck. I mean, have you seen The Fifth Element? Talk about unique!

This film presents an interesting conundrum. It asks us to feel for a person who is shown to have murdered an innocent person. It says, Root for this woman who was saved from a lifetime in prison and has been taught how to kill with ruthless efficiency by a shadowy assassin school! It suggests that we should celebrate her finding love and eventually freedom from her bloody job.

Nikita, the character, isn\\u2019t what one would call a \\u201cgreat person.\\u201d Subjective, I know, but she does kill many people throughout this film\\u2019s running time. But can you put all that aside in favor of giving a person a second chance at life? Who knows what the best answer could be, but this is a great film for asking those questions.

(Recorded on January 26, 2022)

Links to Stuff We Mentioned:

Nikita - IMDb

Nikita trailer - YouTube

Luc Besson - IMDb

Anne Parillaud - IMDb

Tch\\xe9ky Karyo - IMDb

Jean-Hugues Anglade - IMDb

Jean Reno - IMDb

Pointing Rick Dalton - Know Your Meme

L\\xe9on: The Professional (1994) - IMDb

\\xc9ric Serra - IMDb

No Country for Old Men (2007) - IMDb

John Woo - IMDb

Michael Bay - IMDb

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) - IMDb

Milla Jovovich - IMDb

The Fifth Element (1997) - IMDb

Red Sparrow (2018) - IMDb

Alias (TV Series 2001\\u20132006) - IMDb

Nikita (TV Series 2010\\u20132013) - IMDb

Suicide Squad (2016) - IMDb

The Matrix (1999) - IMDb

La Femme Nikita (TV Series 1997\\u20132001) - IMDb

Maggie Q - IMDb

The Prot\\xe9g\\xe9 (2021) - IMDb

Samuel L. Jackson - IMDb

Michael Keaton - IMDb

Martin Campbell - IMDb