IMDb plot summary: An F.B.I. Agent works to uncover an All-American family as Soviet sleeper Agents, and gets caught up in friendship with their unaware son.
Directed by Richard Benjamin. Starring Sidney Poitier, River Phoenix, and Richard Jenkins.
Little Nikita stars River Phoenix as a teenager whose parents have a secret past and Sidney Poitier as the FBI agent determined to expose them. I'm hesitant to say much more because, despite how awkwardly this story unfolds its secrets, I do think it doesn't want us to know them all until about halfway through, so I'll leave it there. This is a pretty clunky one. The writing is awkward, the acting is wooden from some very good performers, the story plays out with big dramatic moments that aren't at all justified in-universe. With just a little bit more editing and finesse, this could have been a pretty fun coming-of-age thriller, but it's just all done so clumsily that none of it really works. The one thing I do want to give a nod to, however, is the musical score, which almost convinced me a couple times that the movie is better than it actually is. Aside from that, however, it's a strange and poorly-executed thriller that completely wastes the talent of its actors, director, and writer, all of whom have made much better movies.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Little Nikita < Hairspray (1988)
Little Nikita < 13 Going on 30
Little Nikita > Blood Heat
Little Nikita < Easter Parade
Little Nikita > The Bone Collector
Little Nikita < Spaceballs
Little Nikita > Stardust Memories
Little Nikita < Old Yeller
Little Nikita > You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Little Nikita > Paramount on Parade
Little Nikita < Marathon Man
Final spot: #3065 out of 3680, or 17%.
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