I'm a hug fan of Luc Besson and have always enjoyed his particular ability to put an ironic spin on the "Hollywood" movie.Leon is what? An action-thriller? A psychological-action-thriller? It defies easy description in part because Besson is so adept at molding the material - taking our expectations and turning them on their ear.For those who don't know, Natalie Portman made her film debut here, and her scenes with Jean Reno are unsettling, to say the very least. The film was criticized for its Lolita-like approach to this relationship, but understanding Besson's "deconstruction" of the sorts of relationships we expect to find in these movies is key.This is a great movie, made before Besson moved into his preoccuption with visual style (The Fifth Element, The Messenger), as good, if not better, than La Femme Nikita.