One of the most underrated 80's espionage thriller's good movies from actor River Phoenix and Sidney Poitier out there. I grew up with this movie watch it on VHS when I was a kid and I like it then and I like it now. I watch it yesterday and it is a good intrigue thriller about espionage. The acting from everyone is realistic to me, the plot the story is creative and original. It has practical effects, it has a little action scens, the death kills are good. Directed was by Richard Benjamin who wonderful directed this classic movie from the 80's. One of the best performances by River Phoenix. I liked him in Stand by Me, Little Nikita (this movie) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (in which River played Young Indy) and it is my favorite Indiana Jones movie. This is Sidney Poitier's second best movie he did after Shoot to Kill aka... Deadly Pursuit which is my favorite Poiter 80's, movie.
I like Roy Parmenter FBI Agent played by Sidney Poitier. This is his second movie the same year he played two roles a an FBI Agent just not the same character. In my opinion Warren Stantin is a better writen character than Roy Parmenter, Sidney Poitier portrayed.
The movie is about Jeff Grant played by the best actor River Phoenix a high school teen who want's to go to Air Force Academy when he apply's at that academy. He meets Roy Parmenter FBI Agent who is undercover as Major and a neighbor to the Grant's family. He get's close to Jeff and becomes friends. Jeff unawere he find's out that his whole life was a lie. His parents lied to him, his name is Nikita and his parents are actually Russian spy's. There is a rogue agent on a loose called only Scuba (Richard Lynch). He is killing Russian agents, by the same time he is searching for Grants because they stole his money and he want's it back. Meanwhile, a Soviet spy-catcher, Konstantin Karpov (Richard Bradford), has been sent from the Soviet embassy in Mexico City to 'reel in' Scuba. Roy is after Scuba, Richard (Richard Jenkins) and Elizabet Grant (Caroline Kava) too. That's actaually basic plot, but I am not done with the whole story yet...
When I said the acting is realistic to me I am explaning in my review now why: after Jeff finds out that everything was whole lie. His parents lied to him, Roy lied to him. He has no one to turn too. No one to trust too. He has stupid girlfriend Barbara Kerry (Lucy Deakins) she was only in one scene and she was cut from the film thank god. Jeff want it to run away and he called his girlfriend and he thought she will help him she refused him. She did not care about his problems or about him. (When a hero get's a girlfriend in a movie it is stupid, because she helps him do whatever he tells her to do, that is in the movies and it is stupid!) In here is the opposite and it is real because I know I went trough like Jeff did. Jeff Grant was an only child just like me, he was alone, he wasn't some idiot hero who was beaten bad guys, he was forced by his will and taken as hostage by Konstantin Karpov. He did not beat him he did what Karpov order him to do. That is realistic played because Jeff was scared. Jeff Grant is a hero to me, he has no girlfriend. Heroes dose not need girlfriends in the movies, that is why Jeff played by River Phoenix is so unique.
It is funny in 2011 there was this movie called Abduction it had similiar plot from this movie Little Nikita. In which Taylor Lautner played a high school student he finds out he was kidnapped but in discovery his parents were spys CIA or something. He is a high schooler, kills all those professional killers with his martial arts skills which is un realistic atrrocius bad and a lie! It is stupid, he has a girlfriend they are both on the run. Abduction try's to be Jason Bourne but misserably fails! Abduction sucks, sucks, sucks!! I hate that movie so much! Taylor Lautner is an idiot and a stupid actor, he can't act, his character was a freud and an idiot he is!! Lautner's spy movie is a peace a garbage! I don't care about Abduction! Little Nikita is realistic, it is a classic, espionage, cold war spy thriller, that succeeds on many levels.
There is a good car chase scenes, good death kills, like Scuba cut's a young girl's line in the water and she is hit from a ship that was excellent performed and brutal. Roy shoots scuba which is really good. I like the ending it is really happy ending I love how it ends. River Phoenix is excellent MILES way better than Taylor Lautner ever will be Period! It is a shame and tragedy that River Phoenix died in 1993 and is no longer with us anymore. He made that movie "The Thing Called Love" I did not like that film, I couldn't got in to it.
Finally this movie was realeasd on Blu-ray disc you can only got it in the US but not in any other country's which sucks. Little Nikita and Shoot to Kill aka... Deadly Prsuit are both heavily underrated. I am giving this movie a solid 6 out of 10 because I wish there would be more action, it could be fast paced to me it felt slow and I prefer Shoot to Kill over Little Nikita. I gave that movie a 10, this movie I gave lower raiting because I do wish it would had more action in it, more interesting. more fast paced and it could have been much better.
R.I.P. River Phoenix, Richard Bradford and Richard Lynch they are all missed but never forgoten.
I like Roy Parmenter FBI Agent played by Sidney Poitier. This is his second movie the same year he played two roles a an FBI Agent just not the same character. In my opinion Warren Stantin is a better writen character than Roy Parmenter, Sidney Poitier portrayed.
The movie is about Jeff Grant played by the best actor River Phoenix a high school teen who want's to go to Air Force Academy when he apply's at that academy. He meets Roy Parmenter FBI Agent who is undercover as Major and a neighbor to the Grant's family. He get's close to Jeff and becomes friends. Jeff unawere he find's out that his whole life was a lie. His parents lied to him, his name is Nikita and his parents are actually Russian spy's. There is a rogue agent on a loose called only Scuba (Richard Lynch). He is killing Russian agents, by the same time he is searching for Grants because they stole his money and he want's it back. Meanwhile, a Soviet spy-catcher, Konstantin Karpov (Richard Bradford), has been sent from the Soviet embassy in Mexico City to 'reel in' Scuba. Roy is after Scuba, Richard (Richard Jenkins) and Elizabet Grant (Caroline Kava) too. That's actaually basic plot, but I am not done with the whole story yet...
When I said the acting is realistic to me I am explaning in my review now why: after Jeff finds out that everything was whole lie. His parents lied to him, Roy lied to him. He has no one to turn too. No one to trust too. He has stupid girlfriend Barbara Kerry (Lucy Deakins) she was only in one scene and she was cut from the film thank god. Jeff want it to run away and he called his girlfriend and he thought she will help him she refused him. She did not care about his problems or about him. (When a hero get's a girlfriend in a movie it is stupid, because she helps him do whatever he tells her to do, that is in the movies and it is stupid!) In here is the opposite and it is real because I know I went trough like Jeff did. Jeff Grant was an only child just like me, he was alone, he wasn't some idiot hero who was beaten bad guys, he was forced by his will and taken as hostage by Konstantin Karpov. He did not beat him he did what Karpov order him to do. That is realistic played because Jeff was scared. Jeff Grant is a hero to me, he has no girlfriend. Heroes dose not need girlfriends in the movies, that is why Jeff played by River Phoenix is so unique.
It is funny in 2011 there was this movie called Abduction it had similiar plot from this movie Little Nikita. In which Taylor Lautner played a high school student he finds out he was kidnapped but in discovery his parents were spys CIA or something. He is a high schooler, kills all those professional killers with his martial arts skills which is un realistic atrrocius bad and a lie! It is stupid, he has a girlfriend they are both on the run. Abduction try's to be Jason Bourne but misserably fails! Abduction sucks, sucks, sucks!! I hate that movie so much! Taylor Lautner is an idiot and a stupid actor, he can't act, his character was a freud and an idiot he is!! Lautner's spy movie is a peace a garbage! I don't care about Abduction! Little Nikita is realistic, it is a classic, espionage, cold war spy thriller, that succeeds on many levels.
There is a good car chase scenes, good death kills, like Scuba cut's a young girl's line in the water and she is hit from a ship that was excellent performed and brutal. Roy shoots scuba which is really good. I like the ending it is really happy ending I love how it ends. River Phoenix is excellent MILES way better than Taylor Lautner ever will be Period! It is a shame and tragedy that River Phoenix died in 1993 and is no longer with us anymore. He made that movie "The Thing Called Love" I did not like that film, I couldn't got in to it.
Finally this movie was realeasd on Blu-ray disc you can only got it in the US but not in any other country's which sucks. Little Nikita and Shoot to Kill aka... Deadly Prsuit are both heavily underrated. I am giving this movie a solid 6 out of 10 because I wish there would be more action, it could be fast paced to me it felt slow and I prefer Shoot to Kill over Little Nikita. I gave that movie a 10, this movie I gave lower raiting because I do wish it would had more action in it, more interesting. more fast paced and it could have been much better.
R.I.P. River Phoenix, Richard Bradford and Richard Lynch they are all missed but never forgoten.