Director
John Badham's remake of French action thriller
La Femme Nikita moves the action to the U.S., where Maggie (
Bridget Fonda) is a strung-out Washington, D.C. drug addict who kills a policeman in a pharmaceutical-induced haze. Sentenced to death, Maggie is rescued by a shady operative, Bob (
Gabriel Byrne), who offers to save her life if she'll become a covert government assassin. Maggie agrees and trains for a life as a professional killer under a new name, Claudia. Her classes include weaponry, martial arts, explosives, and even social graces under the tutelage of Amanda (
Anne Bancroft). Claudia is transformed into a classy sophisticate and is assigned to Venice, California, where she falls for J.P. (
Dermot Mulroney), an attractive photographer who lives downstairs. Claudia's highly dangerous job soon interferes when she's ordered to carry out a series of clever assassinations, including a hit in a restaurant and a hotel bombing. When one particular killing goes horribly wrong, she gets some assistance from Victor the Cleaner (
Harvey Keitel), a disposal artist who may have also been ordered to get rid of Claudia. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide