4. THE PROFESSIONAL/LEON
Luc Besson’s action masterpiece, THE PROFESSIONAL, is one of the smartest and most entertaining action films of the last 30 years. You could say it has something to do with Jean Reno’s charismatic and cunning assassin, Leon. You could also say it has something to do with young Natalie Portman’s precocious and lolita-esque Mathilda. But there is a third element to this explosive mix and that is Gary Oldman’s mercurial and sociopathic villain, Detective Stansfield.
As I mentioned earlier, Oldman’s notorious intensity has always anchored his penchant for playing a decent number of over-the-top villains. In this case, the villain is over-the-top, but Stansfield is essentially just a man. He’s a VERY dirty cop who has no problem murdering an entire family. He’s the perfect counter to Jean Reno’s Leon, and it’s a deliciously evil performance.
