From director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) comes the must-see thriller about a vicious street punk turned sexy, sophisticated and lethally dangerous assassin. Starring Anne Parillaud, Jeanne Moreau and Jean Reno, La Femme Nikita is “slick, stylish and tremendously entertaining” (The New York Times)! Rescued from death row by a top-secret agency, Nikita (Anne Parillaud) is slowly transformed from a cop-killing junkie into a cold-blooded bombshell with a license to kill. But when she begins the deadliest mission of her career, only to fall for a man who knows nothing of her true identity, Nikita discovers that in the dark and ruthless world of espionage, the greatest casualty of all…is true love.

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Video Quality

The new 4K UHD Blu-Ray debut of La Femme Nikita offers a dazzling viewing experience, but there is not a Blu-Ray copy included to judge the size of the upgrade. This release is derived from a 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative with Dolby Vision/HDR that allows the film to look the best it ever has. While not a candy-colored wonderland by any means, the expansion of the color spectrum gives more nuance to the hues than previously thought possible. Colors within the lighting and various elements of the production design are revitalized with this technology. Some of the missions take place at night, so it is important to have strong black levels. The shadows stay deep and inky with terrific line detail. The highlights in the film are robust with the whites firm and balanced with no instances of blooming to be found.

The sumptuous natural film grain has been retained as it resolves evenly without being clumpy or unnatural. Even the most complex gradients do not muddle the picture with loose grain or banding, always leaving a great impression. Skin tones appear natural with healthy doses of fine detail apparent on faces such as the makeup worn by Nikita at key points. Clothing and other textural output of the production design is wonderful to behold with everything rendered without any issues. You will find a vast array of subtle details that are visible thanks to the 4K resolution. Sony has thankfully not had any digital tinkering applied to this transfer, so this disc is free of DNR, compression artifacts, and other encoding issues. Sony has maintained the level of quality you expect from them.

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray provides the original French audio and an additional English dub option with an impeccable DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. The original French track is also presented in lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio. As always, we advocate sticking with the original French track for artistic purity. After at least heavily sampling each of these tracks, we can say they are all pretty great in their own ways.

The surround track maintains a natural emphasis on the front channels for dialogue and other primary sounds, but the activity extends to the surround speakers to make the world feel more immersive and lively. Dialogue is crisp and clear without ever getting overshadowed by the music or sound effects. Atmospheric elements are presented with care within the mix so that directionality is never an issue. The sounds of gunshots and other kinetic effects make a nice impact on the soundscape. The low end effects from the subwoofer give pivotal moments extra weight to enrich the experience. The score flows through the room effectively. Sony has treated this track with respect.

Special Features

Sony has provided La Femme Nikita with a sleek new SteelBook featuring artwork that is truly lovely in person. The front artwork is a shot of Nikita with her back against a wall and her gun drawn which extends to the rear with her legs bent. The interior sports a still photo of Nikita in a dress with her gun drawn. Video of the SteelBook can be found at the top of this review.

There are no special features provided on this disc.

Final Thoughts

La Femme Nikita is a great action-drama from Luc Besson which takes the proper time to get you emotionally invested in the titular character. You understand and feel the burden placed on her when giving in to this lifestyle, and that is executed favorably with a strong performance from Anne Parillaud. Other major talents lend their expertise to the film to shore up any weaknesses. The action is nowhere near nonstop, but there are some fun sequences sprinkled throughout. Sony Pictures has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring an amazing A/V presentation but no special features in a fetching SteelBook packaging. If you are a fan of this film, this is a necessary addition to your collection. Recommended

La Femme Nikita is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.