La Femme Nikita (Limited Edition Steelbook) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Luc Besson

Cast: Anne Parillaud, Jean Hugues Anglade, Tcheky Karyo

Release Date: June 11, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 6.5/10

Synopsis:

From director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) comes the must-see thriller about a vicious street punk turned sexy, sophisticated and lethally dangerous assassin. Starring Anne Parillaud, Jeanne Moreau and Jean Reno, La Femme Nikita is “slick, stylish and tremendously entertaining” (The New York Times)! Rescued from death row by a top-secret agency, Nikita (Anne Parillaud) is slowly transformed from a cop-killing junkie into a cold-blooded bombshell with a license to kill. But when she begins the deadliest mission of her career, only to fall for a man who knows nothing of her true identity, Nikita discovers that in the dark and ruthless world of espionage, the greatest casualty of all…is true love.

‘La Femme Nikita’ tells the thrilling story of Nikita, a street punk arrested for murder who is rescued from her fate on death row by a secret government operative who believes she can be trained and used as an assassin to benefit her country. Tested on every front while forced to remain in a random facility, Nikita is put to the ultimate test when she must unexpectedly kill a man and escape which she miraculously manages to accomplish even with all odds against her. After proving her capability and talents, Nikita is sent out to take her on her own missions, but when she falls in love with a man and gets consistently closer to him, the relationship could prove dangerous if she wants to continue her new career and manage to remain alive.

The beloved action film is directed by Luc Besson from his own screenplay and Besson does a tremendous job at the helm of ‘La Femme Nikita’ guiding along the thrilling action and excitement with style every step of the way. The film’s cast features Anne Parillaud, Jean Hugues Anglade, Tcheky Karyo and more who each offer generally capable and fitting performances for the most part in their respective roles and help to keep the fast-paced ride moving along smoothly.

‘La Femme Nikita’ was originally released in France in 1990, followed by various other markets and in the US in 1991 and the film has only increased in popularity since its debut, gaining status as one of the better assassin films of the time, as well as boosting filmmaker Luc Besson’s career which was only further cemented by his phenomenal Léon: The Professional (aka The Professional) starring Jean Reno (who also appears as a cleaner here in ‘La Femme Nikita’ although with far less humanity to his character) and has been a beloved action film ever since.

Even nearly three and a half decades after its initial release, ‘La Femme Nikita’ still manages to deliver a wild, engaging and thoroughly thrilling ride into the world of government assassins with a powerful story, central character and numerous unforgettable action sequences that never seem to get tired. If you enjoy a well-constructed action film that manages to do just about everything right (including featuring an actual story and depth to the characters within) but have never had the pleasure of ‘La Femme Nikita’ then I would urge you to go out of your way to give this one a whirl whenever you’re able to because this is one outstanding action film that you won’t want to miss out on.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment brings Luc Besson’s ‘La Femme Nikita’ home on 4K Ultra HD for the first time. The release features a full Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision that was restored from the original camera negative and breathes some notable new life to the film with this rewarding presentation that should have fans of this cult classic quite excited. The solid new Ultra HD video presentation is only further boosted by a fully capable 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack (featuring both the original French language presentation as well as the English Dub) that may not be aggressive on the level of many modern action blockbusters but doesn’t disappoint by any means either. The release is unfortunately absent of any extras and no Blu-ray or Digital copy is included for this one (possibly due to international rights?) but the impressive new 4K presentation should be enough for most 4K capable fans of the film to justify a purchase. The release also features a fairly simple but still very nice, rough textured Steelbook case that fans should appreciate.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘La Femme Nikita’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, restored from the original camera negative and presented in its original 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks great for the most part and offers a clean, sharp and source faithful presentation that improves upon detail and clarity while still retaining that filmic appearance with a nice grain structure visible throughout. Detail is sharp and impressive on most elements within from character faces and clothing to the interior and exterior surroundings utilized along the way, while the Dolby Vision HDR also contributes some more lifelike and rich colors noticeable on blood and other elements. Overall, this is a very nice new Ultra High Definition video presentation that brings the film home looking better than ever.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack in both French and English Dubbed. I viewed with the French DTS-HD MA track enabled which provides a clean, sharp and at times fairly immersive audio presentation. It takes advantage of all five available channels throughout in order to send some music, gunshots and other action effects along with a few other elements and effects throughout the various speakers, while always making certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible. Overall, this is a solid 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that isn’t anything groundbreaking or on par with modern action films but does its job capably throughout.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘La Femme Nikita’ does not include any bonus content.

*Please note: The above images are taken from the film’s Trailer and are not reflective of the actual 4K Ultra HD release or its quality. A standard Blu-ray copy of the film was not included in the release that could be used for screenshots therefore the above images were utilized. All content and images from the film are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 6.5/10

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‘La Femme Nikita’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD as A Limited Edition Steelbook from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘La Femme Nikita’ on 4K UHD Steelbook at Amazon HERE!

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