Pluskylang Great Film overall

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Joel Newman I can't believe the glowing reviews; what do people see in this?To be fair; it has Bridgette Fonda (who's nice to look at). And it's got Harvey Kietel, but Hans Zimmer's music score's terrible. Music can make or break (like a hair cut); really; this film's hugely let down by the music; it's as though Hans Zimmer got some cutlery, put it into a tumble dryer and recorded the noise. Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita was stylish yet long, boring, depressing and overrated. Point of No Return (aka 'The Assassin') might've improved things if it wasn't for some lackluster action (especially the opening shootout - better in the original) and Hans Zimmer's awful, noise polluting score.

Tweekums After drug addict Maggie kills a policeman she is sentenced to death. She is 'executed' but then wakes up to be told she has a choice either she can work for the state or her execution will take place for real. Supervised by 'Bob' her training then begins; she is taught how to behave properly and how to kill. She is not an easy student but eventually passes her final test. Finally she is allowed to leave the training facility and is told to move to Venice Beach and wait further instructions. Time passes and she gets in a relationship with a local man before finally being given her first job. Shortly afterwards 'Uncle Bob' turns up and gives his 'niece' two tickets to New Orleans for Mardi Gras… of course it turns out to be another job. By now Maggie has become more human, the job bothers her on a moral level and she doesn't want her boyfriend caught up in it; Bob tells her that there is no way out of her job. Inevitably she gets given another task… this time things don't go according to plan.When I first watched this in the cinema I really enjoyed this… at the time I hadn't seen 'Nikita'. Having seen both it is clear that this is more than 'based on' it is a very close remake; a few details are changed but not many. While I think the original is the superior film this is still pretty solid and I'll try to review it on its own merits. The story is solid and the main characters are believable despite the unlikely situation. Bridget Fonda does an impressive job as Maggie making her sympathetic despite the way she starts out. She is ably supported by Gabriel Byrne as 'Bob'; Anne Bancroft, as Amanda her etiquette coach; Dermot Mulroney as boyfriend JP and Miguel Ferrer as Bob's boss, who is not a fan of Maggie. There is also an impressively sinister turn from Harvey Keitel as Victor the Cleaner. The action is impressive with shootings, some martial arts and other fights. While there are a few disturbing moments, there is nothing too bad. Overall this is a solid action thriller and while I'd recommend watching 'Nikita' this is worth watching if you don't like subtitles, like any of the main actors involved or just want to compare the films.

SnoopyStyle Maggie Hayward (Bridget Fonda) gets the death penalty for killing a cop during a botched drug store robbery. Her death sentence is faked and Bob (Gabriel Byrne) recruits her as a secret government espionage agent. Amanda (Anne Bancroft) helps train her. She is surprised getting an assassination assignment during a fancy dinner where she jumps down a laundry chute. She is given a new identity and an apartment near Venice Beach in L.A. She starts dating J.P. (Dermot Mulroney).This is a remake of Luc Besson's "la femme Nikita" (1990). It is essentially a repeat of the original. The sameness does take away much of the suspense. The tension is simply gone. Bridget Fonda is a functional actress. This may not be her style of movie. She has an easy going personality that doesn't always work with this complicated character. She struggles to get the dark damage of the role. It's a competent thriller and may be better for people who didn't see Besson's film.

RavenGlamDVDCollector Bridget Fonda gave a magnificent performance as Maggie in this suspenseful thriller. I'm currently watching the recent TV series NIKITA and thought it would be cool to see the original, but downloading the trailer of the Luc Besson film, I just decided no way. I had seen this movie POINT OF NO RETURN when it was first doing its pay-channel rounds, but now, watching it on DVD, and looking at it with NIKITA hindsight, I really appreciate it. Every nuance of the fine acting by Bridget was just now slurped up... She is both harsh and soft, vulnerable and volatile, excellent casting. She gave a lot to the character, but that's her pedigree showing. After all, she was in a stinker of a failed movie a couple of years before, LEATHER JACKETS*, in which she managed to shine despite the whole thing being a sunken ship before the voyage even got under way. An action movie with a complex female lead. Compare this to regular cardboard character (male) action heroes! *my regular followers are shaking their heads. He's talking about LEATHER JACKETS yet again!Bridget Fonda's eyes are what makes POINT OF NO RETURN great! Added to that, she is very light on her feet, and moves like an elegant yacht. Look at her when she comes up those stairs in the restaurant assassination scene.Another interesting bit is how it is clear to me that Quentin Tarantino watched this movie back there in the video shops. He later cast Harvey Keitel in a similar role, no, rather an over- the-top celebration of this in PULP FICTION, and Bridget was in his JACKIE BROWN, complete with a bare foot soles scene (just more elaborated on) such as around halfway in this movie. And coincidentally, Bridget's character's name in LEATHER JACKETS was Claudi, here Claudia is an assumed name. Also, in the recent TV series we have Maggie Q playing NIKITA who was at least in part inspired by Maggie Hayward. And, by the way, Bridget was named after Bridget Hayward, born out of her father's first marriage. Okay, silly trivia, I will shut up now...