X
- 1988
- PG
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 38 m
- 1988
- PG
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 38 m
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
Written By: John Hill, Bo Goldman, Tom Musca, Terry Schwartz
- 1988
- PG
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 38 m
- 1988
- PG
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 38 m
Little Nikita
50
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Where to Watch
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
Written By: John Hill, Bo Goldman, Tom Musca, Terry Schwartz
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
50
18% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
55% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
27% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
50
18% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
55% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
27% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Directed by Richard Benjamin from a screenplay by John Hill and Bo Goldman, Little Nikita is quite a surprise-a film that moves through several layers of irony and absurdism to arrive at a strong and solid emotional core. [18 Mar 1988, p.A]
The film never really carries out its implied deconstruction of the all-American family, but Poitier and Phoenix form an enjoyable bond. [23 Jun 2007, p.53]
Benjamin's creative visual style isn't enough to lift a weak story. [18 Mar 1988, p.D7]
The premise of LITTLE NIKITA is a great one--worthy of Alfred Hitchcock--but the execution here by director Benjamin is as rickety as can be. About two-thirds into LITTLE NIKITA, the film deteriorates so rapidly that the characters cannot help but fall through the holes. Adding to the frustration of watching this otherwise-promising movie fall apart are the superb performances by Poitier and Phoenix.
Richard Benjamin's strategy in directing Little Nikita seems to have been to paper over the holes in the plot with routine moves from spy shows past, in hopes of making the improbable passable.
A package like this looks OK on paper, but goes nowhere. It turns all of the characters into chess pieces, whose relationships depend on the plot, not on human chemistry. Since the plot is absurdly illogical, you’re not left with much.
It sounds like, maybe, a cute Saturday Night Live skit, but as a serious drama, or even as an adventure melodrama -- well, it has plenty of humor, all the wrong kind. [15 May 1988, p.B06]
User Reviews
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Production Company
Columbia Pictures
Release Date Mar 18, 1988
Duration 1 h 38 m
Rating PG
Tagline He went to bed an all-American kid and woke up the son of Russian spies.
