Black Cat is brisk, violent and reasonably entertaining with some good stunts and effects. If it has a flaw, it is that it sets such a brisk, heart pounding pace at the beginning that it is virtually impossible to keep that level of dynamism up, and sure enough, once Cat goes into training the film slows down. It’s not boring, but it is less defined than Besson’s Nikita or Badham’s Assassin/Point of No Return. The dehumanising and rebuilding of Cat at the CIA facility doesn’t ring true, as for the majority of her time there, she still has the same anti-social chip on her shoulder. But yet, when it becomes time for her to go out into the real world and kick ass, she does so willingly. Adding to the confused mess, is that Cat’s first assignment – which is really a test – is structured so that she feels betrayed by her own team. Yet, afterward, despite her initial anger, she chooses to ride with it.
#1 by El Santo on April 20, 2011 - 7:34 pm
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“In the twenty-one years since its release, Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita has indelibly burnt itself onto the minds of action fans.”
Interesting that you should put it that way. Seeing La Femme Nikita in the early 1990’s was one of the things that convinced me I wasn’t a fan of action movies. It literally put me to sleep.