Mathilda: "Is life always this hard, or is it just when you're a kid?" Léon: "Always like this."

Can we be honest for one moment? The plant gave a really underrated performance.

The scene when Mathilda walks past her murdered family and rings Leons door.... that was the moment everyone knew that Natalie Portman was gonna be one amazing actress, that she already was.

When Natalie Portman won her first Oscar for her performance in Black Swan, she gave thanks to the director of Leon, Luc Besson, for giving her her first opportunity in acting in this film.

In a 2014 Playboy interview, Gary Oldman said his screaming of the now iconic line "Bring me everyone!" was improvised to make director Luc Besson laugh. He'd said the line in a regular voice in a previous take. But then he cued the sound guy to slip off his headphones, and shouted it as loud as he could. Besson loved it and used it in the film. Oldman says that is now the line fans quote most when they meet him.

I absolutely love this movie! Gary Oldman wasn't scripted to scream "EVERYONE!" --------- He wasn't feeling the scene and decided to take things into his own hands and motioned discreetly at the sound guy to take his headphones off. ------- He caught the actors and crew completely off guard lol. Epic!🎉

the film went into productions only a few months after the tragedy of Brandon Lee in The Crow, so since Nathalie Portman handles so many weapons in the plot, her parents hired a weapons expert to teach her how to assemble and disassemble parts, how to check for live ammo, how to tell the difference between bullets and blanks, how to tell the difference between weights of loaded and unloaded guns, which make Mathilda the most badass teen ever!

This movie was one of the many great performances by Gary Oldman.

Stansfield is sometimes referred to as "The performance that birthed 1,000 villains" because it was the role that inspired a whole trend of "big acting" in young actors. Oldman's work in the 90s is bar-none a decade of solid career-defining acting.

Natalie Portman's on-screen debut was so brilliant. From a young age, she was acting like a top-tier pro. Wow, so extremely talented from a young age. What more can be said about Gary Oldman he steals the show. He is so psychotic and neurotic at the same time. He takes this character to the top floor in terms of acting ability. "EVERYYYYYYOOOOOONE!" will forever be iconic.

I love Eric Serras music for this movie. Feels inspired. The 5th Elements music is great as well.

I saw the movie shoot for Leon, in the spring of '93, while I was growing up in NYC. I lived on the block Leon and Mathilda live on at the beginning of the film (their building is 71 E 97th street, I lived a few doors down, at 53 E 97th). I'm Portman's age, and I was a French immigrant in the US at the time, so it was surreal walking home from school to see Besson and Reno juggling with the football Oldman would throw onto the subway tracks--they had just had a GIGANTIC hit with the Big Blue in France, shortly before my family relocated, so I recognized them instantly. The neighborhood is unrecognizable now. Last time I was there, I couldn't even spot a single rat...

Gary Oldman is so brilliant. Definitely this and his role in True Romance are all time faves of mine. If you haven't seen True Romance you need to add it to your playlist. Top tier Tarantino!

For me it was Natalie Portman's best role. If you want to see another great performance by a 12-year-old child, watch Christian Bale's debut in Steven Spielberg's: "Empire of the Sun" (1987), Bale's performance in that movie is really moving.

As someone born in 84 who saw this movie in 1995, I had a crush on Matilda, and had the benefit of growing up with Natalie through the years. She's maintained a huge crush of mine throughout the years, both for her looks and her absolutely undeniable talent. She's brilliant, and this movie solidified it for her.

The pace, dialogue, action, emotion - all so good in this film. A masterpiece.

Gary Oldman, hell of an actor.

One thing that really hallmarks the difference between the American theatrical cut and the director's cut is that Beson does not shy away from the uncomfortable fact that a prepubescent like Mathilda, who has only seen the most disgusting of male-female relationships may inherently confuse a more genuine paternal love for romance. And she might feel that to prevent abandonment from a male in her life, the only thing she has to offer is her sexuality (a concept still way over her head). This could have been portrayed wrong a million ways, but "Leon" does is right. Leon (the character) is innocent enough to be made nervous and confused by her, but pure enough to both not take advantage of her or get rid of her. I think the panic alarms turn on in every adult male's brain should they be stuck with a flirty adolescent, and most wouldve tried to shovel her off to the police. Leon (though a mass murderer) sticks that middle road with her and gives her a paternal presence she probably doesn't think she deserves. I believe his fatherly love is what lets her finally decide she deserves a normal life in the end - he proved to her she is worthy. Both characters have very nice arcs in this movie.

I really like that you both take the time to discuss these films after the movie is done. Most reaction channels have a minute or three of wrap up after they watch something, but your disccussions are much more like how friends actually talk about a movie after they see it.

Portman had a trio of films come out at around the same time: The Professional, Heat, and Beautiful Girls, and it was pretty clear that she’d be someone to pay attention to.

The music in the The Fifth Element (1997) ​is by Eric Serra too! 🥰 It's my second favourite sci-fi comedy! 👌🏼✌🏼

I first saw the film in 1995 on VHS when I was 15. Blew me away and deeply affected me. It was one of the movies from that era that got me deeper into cinema and the idea of becoming a filmmaker and actor. Natalie is a year younger than me, and I developed a huge crush on her after seeing it that persists to this day. In some ways I still think it's her best performance and the best film she's done. Besson made a bit of a masterpiece with this one, and of course Jean Reno and Gary Oldman are brilliant as well.

Who loves the performance of Gary Oldman in this movie, especially the EVERYONE scene? EVERYONE!!

Keith A. Glascoe, the actor who played Benny (The guy Gary Goldman screamed EVERYONE at) was a New York City Firefighter that died when the South Tower Collapsed on 9/11. I watch this every year on the anniversary to honor the man's sacrifice.

I named my son Leon after this movie, that probably says enough about how much it means to me :) thanks guys, for reacting to it :))

Gary Oldman taught me what a truly terrifying villain is at a young age with this movie. I still bring some of his character into my writing!

35:34 Gary Oldman had a perfect American accent for a Brit! He mentioned Beethoven as an inside joke. It was released in 1994, the same year as "The Professional", a biopic featuring Gary Oldman as Beethoven! The movie is called "Immortal Beloved". This is another great movie with Gary Oldman that is well worth a watch.

If Leon was a creep he obviously would've taken advantage of Matilda's nonsensical advances, but credit to him that he constantly tries to maintain the Father-Daughter dynamic.

First time seeing this movie when it came out, we all knew Natalie Portman was already a star. And as a french, I'm so proud people from all around the world could see Jean Reno. The man is a legend.

I had to jump ahead to make sure you watched the extended version and not the theatrical cut. I'm glad you saw the directors cut. The theatrical, since it misses a lot, treats the relationship between Leon and Mathilda almost as if its reciprocated. Another reactor watched it and I facepalmed because she missed how great the movie was because she was too busy being squicked out by the misunderstood plot. Mathilda is not in love with Leon. Mathilda is a little girl trying to grow up in a difficult environment and become more adult by any means. Whether its smoking and drinking to seem more adult, lying about her age or attempting to seduce an older man for her first experience, not to mention the fact she wanted to kill the men who shot her brother(by accident, not that it really matters, they would have killed them all anyway thanks to her dad)at the age of twelve. Leon is the first positive male role model in her life after an abusive father, so of course she sees him as a saviour and her young mind confuses it as romance. Leon, on the other side of the spectrum, despite his profession, is very immature. He watches old movies with childlike wonder, he drinks milk, he is slow in speech and bad in social situations and conversations with other adults and he's illiterate at the beginning, most likely because of his poor upbringing.) His relationship with the rich girl who was murdered soured him to any other romantic relationship and he loves Mathilda as a daughter, NOT a lover. The directors cut removes whole sections of the movie(such as his conversation about his past, the scenes of Mathilda learning how to clean on the job with him(setting up the ring trick, etc;) Anyone who watches the theatrical cut misses out on the truth about the movie.

I understood the ending that way, that Tony's taking care of her meant he paid for Matildas schooling (using Leons saved money) and the 100$ were pocket money for her to spend.

Such good acting from EVERYONE!!! Gary Oldman's performance particularly fascinates me. He is so over the top that it borders on cheesy acting...but he makes it work so well! I have seen him in so many movies and he is always different...sometimes it takes me awhile to even recognize him. Even in bad movies he is good. One of the best.

Oh yes, love this movie! So good! Gary Oldman plays such a loveable character. 😁

"This is......Art" Welcome to european cinema.

What's remarkable about Oldman's performance - something many either don't know or have just forgotten - is that it's 90% improvised. The sniffing of Matilda's father; the way he bites and swallows the Librium pills; the "Mickey Mouse bullsh*t" scene; the "You don't like Beethoven" line, which Oldman changed for a different line for every take; and the infamous "EVERYONE!" Luc Besson didn't even know he was going to scream that line, Oldman just told the sound man to take his headphones off before the take so he could do it :)

So glad you guys enjoyed this film. It’s one of my absolute favorites and very special to me.

I really like the way that Matilda is portrayed (and acted). She feels believable. She is tough when out of the action, but then when she gets in over her head she becomes scared and overwhelmed, and it shows. The natural bravado during the calm period where you think you can do all these things to people who deserve it, but once action starts you think "WTF ... this is so terrifying". And Natalie Portman blows this portrayal out of the water. The more I watch it, the more I appreciate it.

this was the role that gave Natalie Portman her last name, Her parents wanted to protect her because of the mature content of this movie so they gave her , her grandmothers last name 'Portman" and it stuck ever since

9:26 The DEA agent, Benny, is portrayed by actor Keith A. Glascoe. He was in the NFL for a short time and several years after this movie became a firefighter with the FDNY. Unfortunately, F/F Glascoe was working 21 Truck the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 and was killed in the South Tower.

I love Léon, it's a personal favourite of mine (don't like the American title The Professional, I prefer the original name). I hate it when peeps call it pedophilic, they clearly don't get the movie nor its message. Such a sad story, I think it's Luc Besson's masterpiece. Like someone mentioned, one of the many great performances by Gary Oldman. The entire cast is stellar, so is the soundtrack and everything else. Luc Besson really outdid himself with this one. Or did he? Curious to see if Sam likes it. Also R.I.P. Danny Aiello, mister New York himself! The man was so likeable as a human and an actor, even when he played bad guys. Despite everything, I like to think his character really cared for Léon. He was clearly tortured to give up his whereabouts 😉

I would recommend "La Femme Nikita" if you guys love this movie. it's very french style movie and also kinda having like some sort of a beta version (i don't know what word should i use sorry) of Léon character, very underrated Luc Besson movie in my opinion. (also has some great music too, sort of like Léon but more energetic)

It is a rollercoaster of emotions, and one perfectly shot movie.

I loved how that you saw and said that yes, Matilas' action and behaviour was uncomfortable, but it was all her, sadly quite normal for a young girl in an abusive home. I've seen too many people turn here behaviour on to Leon like he was a creep, really sad and dangerous that people can't see whats in front of them. Great reaction.

"She looks super young" 😒 The girlfriend in the opening was Luc Besson's wife at the time... she has since said that the movie is based on their relationship 😬😬😬 She's also in Fifth Element as the opera singer.

Leon (Jean Reno) is a reworking of a character named Victor (aka "The Cleaner") that first appeared in the film "La Femme Nikita" (aka "Nikita"). Both films were directed by Luc Besson. "La Femme Nikita" was later remade as the Hong Kong film "Black Cat" (1991) and the American film "Point of No Return" (1993). "La Femme Nikita was also the basis for the 1997 Canadian TV series and the 2010 American TV series "Nikita." Jean Reno was really terrific in his role and inspired the director to rework the character and give him his own film. According to Wikipedia, "Besson described Léon as "Now maybe Jean is playing the American cousin of Victor. This time he's more human." If you like the film "Léon," you should definitely check out "La Femme Nikita." It's a terrific action film starring French actress Anne Parillaud.

Please do "The Crow." The 1994 version with Brandon Lee!

One of the best films I've ever seen. Hands down. The acting from all three principal actors is excellent, and Gary Oldman is chillingly good.

"i love these calm little moments before the storm" still get goosebumps watching that

This is one of the all time great films! It has such great rewatchability.

One of my all time top 10 movies, the extended French cut is the best one. I would highly recommend Luc Besson's 80s gems, Nikita and Subway. PS - Love your reaction videos.

This is a film about trauma. Matilda has never experienced love other than from her little brother. She cannot tell the difference between romantic love and parental love, and is also just coming into the early stages of her sexuality. She has no way of comprehending her love for Leon; she just knows she loves him.

This has become my favorite of the numerous reaction channels I follow. Your reactions are so genuine, and love your take on things!

When this came out I knew she was going to be a star. Her performance was so well done. That's why when she become popular later in life, I was like "Psh, I remember her from way before!"

This is a great movie no matter what version you watch. I'm not surprised you liked the cut down American version...it was literally edited for American audiences. The longer version has a much more European or I should say french view. I can't speak for all European nations but the french don't idealize childhood as much as the US does and tend to have a more(based on my own childhood) realistic view of how children think and behave. (Japan tends to be similar in their media as well.) Americans tend to find any portrait of children that fall outside the children are pure and innocent stereotype unsettling.

This movie was based on a character with very little screen time from a movie called, La Femme Nikita. Which I believe was also directed by the great Luc Besson. He began to think, what if this character had a story? And a life? This became that character and movie.

I didn't know until now that "Leon" was a much different cut of "The Professional." I thought it was just the original title changed before the release. "Pulp Fiction" had just opened wide about a month before this was released, so with that in the mainstream, audiences were suddenly a little more receptive to this kind of somewhat quirky hitman ultraviolence.

I feel so incredibly sorry for the next bully in that school who's trying to mess with Mathilda... After all she had been told by Leon

This is one of 3 great 1990's movies that make a "Hitman Trilogy" for me. The other 2 movies: Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (1999) w/ Forest Whitaker Grosse Point Blank (1997) w/ John Cusack and Minnie Driver

Another very good movie analysis, you two. The first Gary Oldman movie I ever saw was also my first Tim Roth movie: "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead", from 1990. The title is the closing line of Shakespeare's "Tragedy of Hamlet". It also starred a very young and very handsome Iain Glen, more recently famous for his role in "Game of Thrones" as the Mother of Dragon's most loyal and most loving defender, throughout the series. "R & D Are Dead" is from the play by Tom Stoppard, a highly clever writer (best known for his script for "Shakespeare in Love"). The two characters of the title are mentioned a couple of times in "Hamlet"; they were the Danish prince's school chums, called in to cheer him up, after his father's death. What this play and movie do is to follow these two minor characters, instead of the bard's main characters. The camera sees them interact with Hamlet, for example, in scenes from Shakespeare's own play, and then as the tragedy continues off-screen, in the background, the camera follows our two lead schmucks in their own wanderings. They wonder why they have been summoned, and where they were, what they were doing when they were summoned, and their only aid comes from Shakespeare's original dialogue -- and it is no help at all, to them. The movie and play are hilarious and inventive, original in the extreme. If you like Oldman and Tim Roth ("Reservoir Dogs", "Pulp Fiction" and "Hateful Eight" by Tarantino, plus many other great roles), and if you enjoy a film in which the fun, clever dialogue plays delightful games with the English language, you will adore "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead".

Gary Oldman can play any villian so easily, this movie and Air Force One too. Didnt expect this movie is mixture of action and comedy so well. Natalie Portman is so cute here ❤

The other version is honestly better in at least one aspect. You never see the "ring trick" earlier in the film so, when Leon hands Stansfield the grenade ring at the end, you don't get it for a second because you didn't see it coming. Seeing the trick earlier in the film puts it in your head and kind of spoils the ending a bit. Just my two pennies.

One of the greatest movies of all time. The trio of Reno, Portman and Oldman is simply excellent. 9/10

Jean Reno doesn't get enough attention or credit for his work😒. He's a great actor. 😁👍👌His handler (character) was taking advantage of Leon because of his illiteracy.

They ought to make a Mathilda The Professional! Edit: Turns out Luc Besson had a script for a sequel, called Mathilda and was waiting for Natalie Portman to get older. They ended up not doing it. That script was partly used for the 2011 movie Colombiana.

Love that you guys weren't put off by Portman falling in love with Leon like other american reactors often are, acting as if that was something Leon would consider. Another must watch Luc Besson film with great visuals would be The Fifth Element, from 1997.

This movie has been on my list to watch for years and I finally took the plunge this week when you posted your schedule - watched it Monday, REwatched it Wednesday; such an incredible movie and easily one of my favorites. I also didn't realize there were 2 versions and I ended up watching The Professional. I really appreciated seeing the additional moments included in your video as well as your comparing of the two versions and I (without complete viewing of this version, in fairness) agree with your take that The Professional is the preferable edit. While it was nice to see more moments of them together, I agree that Mathilda's character in The Professional flows better and the ending is set up better as a twist, with only the visual hinting of his grenade belt. But I respect anyone who prefers the longer edit, it's incredible no matter how you slice it. This is probably my favorite performances of Gary Oldman and Natalie Portman. So, thanks for posting your schedule! I can't see my life without this movie in it now, and who knows how much longer it would've taken me to watch it. Loved your reaction and your thoughts at the end, as always.

Eric Serra is the French composer that did the soundtrack, He also did the movie "The Big Blue" soundtrack in 1988... Great score 👌👌✌️

Hi TBR & Samantha, the actor who played Leon (Jean Reno) starred in a comedy film the year before Leon, it is called (The Visitors). I think you would enjoy it too, he is a knight who finds himself like a fish out of water.

Stansfield's last henchman, Benny ('the buff guy') was played by an actor named Keith A. Glascoe, who was also a real-life firefighter with Ladder 21 of the New York Fire Department. He lost his life on 9/11 in the collapse of the South Tower. In this film, he plays a man engaged seriously illegal and immoral activities, but in reality was clearly a much better man.

Benny, bring me everyone. What do you mean, "everyone?" EVERYONE!!!!!

It's time for Hollywood to give us Mathilda: the Professional

The girlfriend of the mobster at the beginning is the blue alien singer in The Fifth Element. She was also Luc Besson's wife or GF.

Director Luc BEsson Had production delays while making "The Fifth Element". ------ To keep the film's production team under contract he decided to make Léon, as "a filler". ------- Completed the writing in the final months, filmed it in 90 days. ---- That is the stuff of legends for sure. Incredible.

This was Natalie Portman's film debut. Also, While most of the interior footage was shot in France, the rest of the film was shot on location in New York City. Fun Fact: The Marilyn Monroe impression she does is how she landed the role, in interviews, Portman didn't know who Marilyn Monroe was at the time. Her parents were reluctant to let her do the part due to the explicit sexual and violent nature of the script, but agreed after Besson (the director) took out the nudity and killings committed by mathilda.

Jean Reno is a great actor..the first movie i "noticed" him..i was 11 and in love with Natalie..☺☺,also loved the 1990's!!!

I love this movie. When I saw this for the first time, I had never seen Natalie Portman before. I absolutely adored her after this movie. I think a lot of people lose context of the movie with the relationship between Matilda and Leon. She was never treated with any respect except by Leon, plus he saved her life, so it's only natural that she has a crush on him. And Leon had not known love since he was 19 and his girlfriend was killed by her own father, so he just likes having someone around... something he had forgotten.

16:34 That moment when she realises she's standing on her little brother's chalk mark, with the low boom sound and follow-up music, is so utterly, devastatingly sad. I can't help but well-up at that scene, every time.

This was my pick whenever someone asked me which was my favorite movie for 20 years straight. Practically perfect in every way.

9:38 "he said go back inside" 🤣 Great reaction, guys.

One of my favorite movies ever. I've been bingeing your videos for the past couple weeks and by far one of my favorite react channels. You've been watching a lot of my favorites and I'm glad you don't skip the scenes that I want to see a reaction to, so thanks for that!

Luc Besson is one of my favorite Directors! I think his films La Femme Nikita and The Messenger would be great to react to.

Please watch True Romance, written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott. Starring Christian Slater and featuring Gary Oldman and Christopher Walken.

Thank you, I love this movie. The site's critics consensus reads, "Pivoting on the unusual relationship between a seasoned hitman and his 12-year-old apprentice-a breakout turn by young Natalie Portman-Luc Besson's Léon is a stylish and oddly affecting thriller."

Been waiting for you guys to watch this! Since you really liked it, I know you would love In Bruges. It's a great film.

*Thank you* for understanding the relationship between Matilda and Léon correctly! Matilda came from such a broken family that she has never experienced any affection from anyone. So, when Léon gave it to her, of course she was confused and couldn't tell romantic affection from paternal affection, because she has never experienced either. It's only realistic. Some people seem to view this movie as some kind of "grey area"-argument for inappropriate relationships between adults and children, which saddens me, because a) it is a fundamental misunderstanding of the movie, and b) Léon literally never went anywhere near having any sort of romantic feelings for this child. Instead, he spoke to Matilda about her supposed infatuation for him, with honesty and understanding, which is the right thing to do, imho.

I strongly recommend you a film by the same director, namely "Big Blue", of course, with Jean Reno in one of the main roles. My favorite film by this director. Greetings from Poland :)

Eric Serras score is phenomenal

This and his other movie 'La Femme Nikita' made me see Luc Besson on the same level as James Cameron when it comes to directing action movies. And Portman's performance made me a life long fan of her. Glad you also appreciated Eric Serras music. Also, I think that was a first tracking shot of an explosion. I might be wrong about this but to me it feels like a nod to the tracking shot of that axe Nicholson uses to hack at that door in The Shining.

Gary Oldman one of the greatest actors of our time from Commissioner Gordon, Dracula, Irish Mobster, the Fifth Element, Sid and Nancy etc and he never just plays himself like alot of popular actors just genius thanks that was fun like always

Natalie Portman is so cute in this movie^^^ 😍 This film is amazing and Gary Oldman is perfect in this^^ Greetings from Germany to both of you, like your videos!

Jean Reno, an assassin, amazed by Gene Kelly simply enjoying the movie in solitude. This is the best.

Forgive my grammar, because I am not good at English, but recently I had a very interesting incident that happened in my life. I was in the supermarket and saw a woman wearing a Leon T-shirt. And I asked her a question: Excuse me, Is life always this hard or just when you are a kid? And she answered me: Always like this. And then we parted ways, smiling at each other. Isn't that cool?

Easily in my top 10 favorite movies of all time! Such a classic & loved it so much growing up. Glad that you're having Samantha watch it for her first time!

I have seen this movie so many time and it's great! Another great movie from earlier Luc Besson's career is Nikita(1990). 🤘

I've never learned more about being an effective hitman than after I watched this movie.

@15:55 so you guys kinda misread that scene, he wasn't actually troubled by "no work", his work is pretty unlimited as crime itself. Mathilda just revealed to him she loves him and this new revelation greatly disturbed him. It's a new element in his life that changes the dynamic of his life. Remember he was about to shoot her in her sleep simply because her presence as a new element disturbed him. He's socially awkward, doesn't know how to deal with people and killing for so long has fukt up some sense of social humanity. Notice how he waits until the door is closed behind him to express himself after Mathilda gives that news. Killing so much may have made him socially awkward but he's not a stranger to the passions of hate and love so the gravitas of what she just told him is sinking in him, and he hid it from her with his placated response "must be a stomach ache" and only reveals his real feelings about it the second he closes the door, slouches to the wall, and then hides behind his sunglasses as he walks away outside with such brisk in his walk because he's running away from the problem hoping it'll go away. Later when he comes back with a dress-gift, while opening the door you see him bleeding because now Mathilda made him sloppy. Her love revelation is on his mind and so is distracted enough that he actually got SHOT. But Leon, as you saw in the opening, is flawless. He doesn't GET shot, he's a total ghost that annihilates without a trace. So Mathilda (a person he didn't realize he's gotten attached to) telling him she loves him is doing a real number on him. That was a bomb she dropped on him.

Great movie! i remember i was 19yrs old back then when i watched it yeah im that old now lol.

Absolute classic. Natalie Portman! Gary Oldman! Jean Reno! The Plant!

Fun Fact: In Luc Bessons (the Director) "Nikita" 1990, Jean reno played a role as "Cleaner" named Victor. *its on prime (in germany) right now I knew that Sting-Song "Shape of my heart" bofore the movie. And when i first watched the End, i heard this guitar an i was like "no, this cant be..." ...and it was. And it makes it still one of my favourite Songs. I think Leon is still Bessons Masterpiece. Before the 5th Element. Besson was involved in a lot of movie Tresures.

Mathilda kind of looked in some moments like a complete lolita. Great acting and one of my favourite Reno movies.