Little Nikita (1988) User Reviews

With the Benefit of Hindsight

[barney_holmes · 6/10 · 3 January 2009]

It's easy to look back now at this film as a very average Cold War thriller, but that is with the benefit of hindsight. It's difficult for today's generation, those of the age that the Phoenix character plays, to appreciate that the world really was living with a possible Nuclear destruction if there had been an accident or serious misunderstanding.

The action and drama is really primarily psychological, with the heart of the film hinging on the Poitier and Phoenix performances. It's easy now to pass off the whole thing as a trivial character piece, but, then, the stakes were sky high and the Cold War themes were progressive and unusual. In our post Cold War world where Gorbachev and Reagan slowly recede into the mists of history it would be a shame to write of this movie without understanding the atmosphere it was made in.

great actors in weak movie

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 25 May 2016]

The Soviets suspect their agent nicknamed Scuba (Richard Lynch) is killing their deep agents and blackmailing them. They send agent Karpov (Richard Bradford) to stop him. In San Diego, FBI agent Roy Parmenter (Sidney Poitier) has been hunting Scuba for killing his partner. He discovers false information on the Air Force Academy application of Jeffrey Grant (River Phoenix) and suspects his parents Richard (Richard Jenkins) and Elizabeth (Caroline Kava).

There are a lot of dead bodies and it seems only Parmenter is on the case. The Russian characters are too Russian. They are literally meeting at the ballet. Despite having some great actors, this doesn't have the needed gritty realism. The idea of Russian sleeper agents in the suburbs could be interesting but this is not well executed. River Phoenix continues to be great. His next movie 'Running on Empty' has a superior family with secret identities.

Involving, But Only So-So Overall

[ccthemovieman-1 · 5/10 · 13 October 2006]

This was a fairly involving story, although it's better in the first half. After that, the kid gets annoying but then the film picks back up in the last 15 minutes. The story is about this teen boy "Jeff Grant" (River Phoenix) who discovers his parents are "sleepr" KGB agents, spies are out of the business. They have come to the United States to start over with their kid.

Meanwhile, an assassin is killing those former, or "sleeper," if you will, agents. "Roy Parmenter" (Sidney Poitier), an FBI man, is after anyone it seems. That last part is a bit confusing.

The story taxes ones believability here and there but is interesting most of the way. However, I thought Phoenix overacts in a number of scenes. This was far from his best performance in his abbreviated film career.

FBI agent stumbles upon Soviet spies while interviewing Air Force Academy hopeful.

[rm91945 · 29 January 2002]

The fact that the basic plot of this movie is ridiculous fails to ruin it. FBI agent Roy Parmenter (Sidney Poitier) is interviewing Jeff Grant (River Phoenix) for his possible entrance into the Air Force Academy. While reviewing Grant's file he discovers that his parents Richard (Richard Jenkins) and Elizabeth (Caroline Kava) are not who they seem to be. They turn out to be dormant Soviet spies, `sleepers', who have come to the United States and started a life with their son, who has no idea they are spies.

I won't even go into how silly it is the way Parmenter discovers this, as if computers REALLY work that way. Suffice it to say, when he finally tells an incredulous Jeff about his parents, several other sleepers have already been murdered by renegade double agent Scuba (Richard Lynch). Scuba wants money from the KGB and if he doesn't get it, he will kill every sleeper on his list, the Grants included. The former boss to all these agents is Constantine (Richard Bradford), who is sent to San Diego to collect Scuba and take him back to Russia for punishment.

Scuba is finally captured, by Parmenter, whose partner was murdered by Scuba some 20 years prior, so he has a personal reason for wanting Scuba too. The aforementioned characters wind up on the trolley going towards the Mexican border and an exchange between Parmenter and Constantine, who has abducted Jeff, occurs. However, once at the border, Scuba makes a run for it and all hell breaks loose.

As I said earlier, as implausible as the plot is, the movie is actually quite enjoyable and somehow suspenseful. While you may find yourself rolling your eyes at certain points, you'll also find yourself chuckling at some of the dialog and situations the characters find themselves in. Loretta Devine, as Jeff's teacher Verna McLaughlin, is hilarious in the scene where she is caught in bed with Parmenter by Jeff. `No problem,' she says when Parmenter apologizes, `I'll just go topless for the whole student body!'

Despite the fact that Scuba is the ultimate enemy I found myself cheering him on because Lynch is such a powerful actor. You want to see him on the screen more, no matter what he's doing. The fact that he's not in the film enough is my only other complaint about it.

"Shove this up your bladder, Boris."

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 19 June 2018]

River Phoenix co-stars in this political thriller as "Jeff Grant", an All-American teenager determined to enrol in the Air Force Academy to impress his parents. What he's never known is that his dad and mom (Richard Jenkins, Caroline Kava) are in reality Soviet "sleeper" agents that have long been residents of the U.S. of A. FBI agent Roy Parmenter (Sidney Poitier) finds this out, and goes out of his way to befriend Jeff, hoping to expose the parents. But while this is going on, a renegade Soviet agent, "Scuba" (Richard Lynch), is busy eliminating sleepers in hopes of a payoff. The KGB sends one of their top men, Konstantin Karpov (Richard Bradford), to apprehend Scuba.

"Little Nikita" is directed competently enough by actor / filmmaker Richard Benjamin ("My Favourite Year"), but it's almost defeated by an utterly lousy script, credited to John Hill and Bo Goldman. It has barely a believable moment, but, to be fair, the incredible absurdity of the dialogue and scenes is good for some laughs. Poitier does give the movie some life with a lively and jokey performance; he's amusing, helping to smooth over a lot of those rough spots. Phoenix is good as the kid who's confronted with this truth about his folks that seems impossible to swallow. In fact, it's this excellent cast (also including Jerry Hardin as Poitiers' superior, Loretta Devine as a guidance counsellor who gets into bed with Poitier, and a briefly seen Lucy Deakins as Jeffs' girlfriend) that makes this preposterous movie as entertaining as it is. It really goes off the rails towards the end, with a priceless climax that turns the parents into action heroes! This is followed by more nonsense - a standoff on a trolley, a denouement on a border crossing.

Somewhat fun on a no-brainer level, but Phoenix's next picture, "Running on Empty", about another average American kid forced to deal with an unpleasant reality about his folks, is superior.

Six out of 10.

Average movie in almost all ways.

[elliehemm · 6/10 · 9 August 2003]

This is one of the stupidest movies I have ever seen, however like many similarly dumb movies it does have its entertaining moments. To start with the plot is about as farfetched as they come. **SOME SPOILERS ** During a routine check to allow a boy into the airforce it comes to this FBI guy's attention that the boys parents are either the undead or are using fake names. Now the FBI agent has to do some snooping and finds out that the boy's parents are in fact Russian sleeper spies and that other sleeper spies in the region are being killed one by one by a rogue Russian spy! the FBI agent tells the boy who predictably does not believe that his all-American parents could be Russian spies but after he does some snooping he finds some passports revealing that his parents are Russian and in fact his name is not Jeff Nicholas Grant as he thought but is actually Nikita! We can all guess what's going to go down now. **END OF SPOILERS **

So the plot is a big weakness but combined with the terrible script Little Nikita makes all its cast and crew look like amateurs. There is seriously only one reason to watch this movie.....the crazy talented RIVER PHOENIX. Phoenix is the only one able to breathe some light and life into the script and his scenes are the only ones worthwhile watching. In a film that is undeserving of such talent River Phoenix comes away unscathed. His performance is solid even if at certain points he too looks embarrassed both by the lines he has to say and the stereotypical Russians he is playing against. Phoenix was the best actor of his generation and it is a deep tragedy that he was taken so young.

My verdict on this film is: AVERAGE script, AVERAGE plot, AVERAGE acting from all but River Phoenix who is great in every part.

Don't pay money to see this film, don't rent it and don't buy it. It's the kind of film you may want to catch on TV if you have a couple of spare hours. If you are a fan of River Phoenix then you probably want to check it out but don't expect too much, his performance is good but the movie itself is far from his best.

5/10

pleasure still with us

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 22 June 2006]

On one level, "Little Nikita" is just another silly action movie. But strong performances and some interesting turns keep this one afloat. FBI agent Roy Parmenter (Sidney Poitier) interviews teenager Jeff Grant (River Phoenix), who is trying to get into the Air Force Academy. But while reviewing Jeff, Roy discovers the most surprising thing of all: Jeff's parents are Soviet "sleeper" spies who fled to the United States and never told him about their history. Moreover, there's renegade Soviet agent Scuba - who murdered Roy's partner many years earlier - looking for Jeff, while the USSR has sent someone to capture Scuba! Yeah, it's beyond convoluted, and - quite frankly - improbable. But director Richard Benjamin knows how to to do it. There isn't a dull moment anywhere in the movie. Pretty interesting. And playing Jeff's dad is Richard Jenkins, aka Nate Sr on "Six Feet Under".

Underrated - well done made espionage thriller from Phoenix / Poitier

[NightmareOnElmStreetFan · 6/10 · 13 November 2019]

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 have a problem with this film on sooo many levels

[mikeg994 · 4/10 · 25 October 2008]

The plot of this film has more holes than Swiss Cheese and seems more than a little dated, even if the baton of the quintessential foreign bad guy has passed now from the Nazis to the Soviets to the Islamic terrorists or (perennial favorite) our own US government.

What if the most ordinary white-bread American parents (yours) turn out to be Soviet spies? That is the premise of this film. What if some renegade Soviet spy is blackmailing the KGB operatives in the US by killing its agents one by one for MONEY! How capitalist! How demented can you be? This is the kind of guy who would take your girlfriend water skiing just so he can see her get smooshed by an oil tanker or something. And what are the poor hapless KGB agents supposed to do? Send your Mom and Dad off to pay this guy off? Why? Almost all of the agents are dead. The only ones left are Mom and Dad. Considering that Mom and Dad are near useless as agents, hey, be our guest, comrade.

And Mom and Dad are sleepers biding their time running a flower shop while waiting for their orders, which finally come in a dead fish. But by this time their covers have worked so well they are now God-fearing Americans. It is as though Ozzie and Harriet were Russian spies. But of course there is blackmail.

Meanwhile who is the FBI agent assigned to this case? Good old Sidney Poitier. Not only is he just the fatherly kind of guy to investigate and then help poor little Nikita (River Phoenix) along, but he moves in next door and is strangely open about his being an FBI agent. Just your friendly neighborhood FBI agent, who washes his car on the weekend and sleeps with the schoolmarm, but who is ready with his weaponry in any case. Gradually he convinces the boy (River Phoenix) of the facts of the matter. I mean wouldn't anybody be convinced that their parents are Soviet spies? This convincing takes about five minutes. I guess teens will believe anything if the news is delivered by Sidney Poitier. Meanwhile River places his trust in this total stranger rather than his own parents who are so good at being faux Americans that they have forgotten their Russian roots.

The fateful moment comes when the KGB boss invites the parents to the Kirov Ballet for instructions. The invitation arrives in a fish in a coded message in a metal canister. Mom cuts herself rather badly on a knife she is so upset by this call to action in the service of Mother Russia, but at least they get to go to a nice ballet about Sleeping Beauty out of it. Anyway Mom looks like she is going to exsanguinate there in the kitchen and all the boy does is go off to his room where he leaves his bedside record player going as he drops off to sleep fully clothed.

Well the parents botch the hand off and wound the bad KGB agent killer and some Mexicans being deported make off with the money and cross the border with it, no questions asked. The killer is wounded but is still alive however and Poitier and the parents chase after the KGB boss, who by this time is taking poor Phoenix at gunpoint to Tijuana aboard public transit. Why? Can't they afford to own automobiles? (Perhaps The budget for transport had to be cut severely after they paid this agent killer off.) And why are they taking the boy? To adopt him and raise him as a Russian? Makes no sense. Are Americans that stupid? Are Russians? I don't think so.

After a ridiculous interview at gunpoint between the parents, the boy, the KGB agent killer, and the KGB Boss, they arrive at the border. Nobody on the train seems to notice that folks have guns pointed at each other back there, but then maybe on the San Diego transit system such things are commonplace.

Things resolve themselves finally when they shoot the KGB killer and some of the KGB boss's henchmen haul the corpse across the border about as easily as one might leave an amusement park. They even haul the agent killer's (Scuba they call him) dead body across too, no questions asked. The border agent looks on innocently as though he were Gomer Pyle, as if to say "Thanks for visiting, come back soon, y'hear?" Admittedly this film was made in the mid-1980s before 9/11 and the breakup of the Soviet Union. The borders with Mexico and Canada were scandalously porous in those days. The Soviets were still the designated bad guys, but hey, they're just doing their jobs, right? Things were softening between the Soviets and the Americans then, but I still don't think you would have gone off to have a beer with Konstantin and Vladimir after a hard day at the FBI office.

Good, solid film, with a couple of misfire in the acting department (probably the director's fault)

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 28 December 2013]

While not a "great" film, I actually think this is pretty decent.

You begin with an interesting premise -- a husband and wife were a Communist sleeper cell in America, but have lived their lives here long enough that they have adapted to and enjoy American culture. Suddenly, the Russian government calls on them to do a job...and they refuse. Caught in the middle is their teenaged son who wants to go to the US Air Force Academy and had no idea his parents weren't everyday solid Americans. He becomes the pawn in an international game of intrigue.

The cast here is very good, as well. Sidney Poitier is fine as an FBI agent, but -- and this is a significant flaw in the film -- he tries to hard to befriend River Phoenix's character; in today's world, people would have assumed he was a predator. River Phoenix is superb as the teen; makes you wonder what would have been had he not succumbed to drugs. Richard Jenkins is one of this country's great unsung actors; always dependable, as he is here. Richard Grant is fine as the Soviet agent, as in Caroline Kava as the mother. Richard Bradford is very good, but the way in which he was directed to portray his role seems very stereotypical. Richard Lynch is dependably slimy as the really bad guy! Interesting to see a young and svelte Loretta Devine; a fine actress.

All in all, a pretty decent film, and probably far more realistic than most "spy" movies.

Plot Failure Complete

[view_and_review · 2/10 · 26 February 2020]

Sidney Poitier has a stellar career, but you can't hit a homerun every at bat. Sometimes you ground out and sometimes you strike out. It doesn't spell the end of a guy's career, it's just a bad at-bat. If Poitier's career were analogous to a baseball player's career, then he'd be averaging .400 with 4,000 hits and 700 home runs. Unanimous first ballot hall of famer.

"Little Nikita" was a strikeout swinging at a pitch that sailed over the catchers head. It was awful. But consider this: Poitier had been out of action for eleven years. He'd done "A Piece of the Action" in 1977 and didn't do anything until "Shoot to Kill" and "Little Nikita" both in 1988. What I'm saying is: I don't blame Poitier for this rancid manure that's not fit to be fertilizer.

The plot was horrible. Maybe someone can explain this to me. How is it that the U.S. government is aware of Russian sleeper cells in America yet they do nothing about them because, "They haven't done anything yet"?

What? Being a sleeper cell isn't enough? They have to do "something."

In the second scene of the movie a Russian agent codenamed SCUBA killed a Russian sleeper agent. FBI agent Roy Parmenter (Poitier) was all over this assassination. He saw a pattern of Russian sleeper agents being bumped off by SCUBA. Roy wants SCUBA because he killed his partner 20 years prior except Roy can't get the OK from the FBI. In other words, he'll have to take SCUBA alone. I call that strike one.

Somehow Roy finds out who SCUBA's eventual targets will be--Mr. and Mrs. Grant, parents of a Jeff Grant (River Phoenix). What Roy does next is beyond curious. He essentially marks 17-year-old Jeff in order to get close to the parents and find out more about them. He was soliciting help from an unwitting teenager. In what universe does an agent develop a relationship with a 17-year-old boy to find out about his sleeper cell Russian parents? I call that strike two.

At the same time Roy is looking for SCUBA there is a Russian agent named Konstantin (Richard Bradford) also looking for SCUBA. The two of them want the same thing: SCUBA dead or in jail.

SCUBA is extorting the Russian government for $200,000. He promised to continue killing Russian agents until they paid up. Of course, the last two agents on his list were Mr. and Mrs. Grant who by this time were all-American. They were more Americanized than a descendant of George Washington. Konstantin activates them to use them as bait. He wants them to deliver the $200,000 to SCUBA in order to draw him out. The all-American Russians are severely out of practice and refuse to do their duty. Konstantin holds their son hostage to force their hand. The trade goes bad, a Mexican migrant family gets the money, Roy gets SCUBA, Konstantin keeps Jeff and is going to take him to Russia presumably.

Eventually there's a Mexican standoff, SCUBA is shot, Konstantin takes the dead body back to Russia, and Mr. and Mrs. Grant get their son and say, "Let's go home." I call that strike three. You're out!!

"Let's go home"?!? These are two Russian spies and I wouldn't care how much apple pie they eat and baseball they watch. They were living under false identities, they were never naturalized and given American citizenship, so how does that work? We leave them alone until they're contacted again and hope that they don't respond? This is one of the most bizarre plots I've ever seen.

Just to recap:

~Russian spy killing other Russian spies on American soil and FBI nor CIA do anything about it.

~FBI agent goes to Russian agents' kid for help

~Russians waltz right out of the U.S. with dead body of Russian killer

~Ward and June Cleaver-ski go back "home" to Fountain Grove, CA to continue their all-American life as sleeper agents.

Plot failure complete.

It's a decent little movie.

[calcat-75546 · 7/10 · 7 August 2023]

I'm kinda disappointed with the dearth of at least 7s for this movie.

It's not a bad movie. As others have noted, the script ain't the best, and the dialogue is lumpy.

So I'll say that the dialogue for most of the adult roles is fine, I think. I wonder if someone else wrote the dialogue for the kids, 'cause it was pretty strained.

River Phoenix was a pretty good actor, but mmm... maybe it was the dialogue, maybe it was the direction of his part, it was a little bit cringe-y. It's like he was being framed as the next James Dean, but this movie wasn't a 50s kitchen sink movie, and he seems to be not comfortable in the role of rebellious teen. The acting seems over the top, I'll blame direction for that. It doesn't fit with the overall feel of the movie, and it doesn't ring true.

Maybe that's the problem with writing for teenage roles? What do I know? Maybe it's difficult to present teenage characters in an un-cringe-y way?

My other quibble is... well, there isn't another one. This is a solid cast, with a decent story, otherwise good dialogue and direction.

I wonder if maybe contemporary viewers are pissed because it isn't a Denzel Washington, slick, Hollywood vehicle? There *are* other black actors, yaknow, just sayin'.

Maybe we've gotten used to seeing such stories presented in a certain way, and this doesn't conform? But they aren't all blockbusters.

I find it just fine.

Angst Ridden Identity Crisis

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 21 April 2008]

I would bet that of all the films young River Phoenix did in his short and sweet life, Little Nikita is probably the one where he played the most normal of kids. But it's that very normality that is the basis for the shock unfolding before him.

A rogue agent played by Richard Lynch who has specialized in playing really evil and loathsome types on the big and small screens is going around killing various sleeper agents that the Russians have planted over the years in America. Lynch is blackmailing the Soviets for big bucks to stop bumping off the deep cover spies. One of their top guys, Richard Bradford, is going to America to deal with the problem. As this is the time of Glasnost with Reagan and Gorbachev in some serious and far reaching negotiations, we don't want this to get public and blow up the summit.

At the same time while Sidney Poitier as an FBI agent is running routine background checks for armed service academy admissions, something really doesn't compute in young River Phoenix's background. It turns out that his parents are deep cover agents who've never been activated to do anything. And by an incredible coincidence I just really couldn't buy, Lynch is a guy who killed Poitier's partner many years ago and he wants him too.

You'd think that with this kind of problem a little below summit Glasnost would have been in order for the KGB and FBI. But no, they're both working at cross purposes for the same goal.

What Little Nikita does have going for it to give it as many stars as it does have is River Phoenix's angst ridden performance of an All American kid whose whole world comes crashing around about him. River's screen characters were usually quirky, but he could play a normal kid and well.

Phoenix's performance and the nice location shooting in and around the San Diego area are the only reason to watch this well meaning, but ultimately rather silly film.

A good thriller with some great acting.

[marcfantozzi · 22 April 2001]

"Little Nikita" is a good thriller and I found it really enjoyable. I am glad that the lovely Loretta Devine (who played Reese in Urban Legend 1 and 2) had the honour of working with River Phoenix before his death. Sidney Poitier gives a good performance also. I found it highly entertaining and enjoyable. And once again, River Phoenix becomes his character in this taut thriller from Richard Benjamin.

Good...but see "Running on Empty" first.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 9 August 2022]

It's very odd that 1988 saw two River Phoenix films where the boy's parents are hiding out from the US government. In "Running on Empty", his parents are domestic terrorists who have been hiding for decades...and in "Little Nikita" they are Soviet 'sleeper agents'* whose son has no idea his parents are Russian spies. As far as Jeff goes, he is living a normal and typical life and he hopes to soon attend the US Airforce Academy, a routine search by the FBI indicates the parents are NOT who they claim to be...and Agent Parmentier (Sidney Poitier) is going to investigate the situation while working undercover. At the same time, a Soviet officer has snuck into the USA about this same family....though exactly what his goals are seem uncertain but may have to do with an agent by the codename of 'Scuba' (Dick Lynch) who is killing the Soviet sleepers!

Of the two movies, "Running on Empty" is superior...and it's a bit of a classic. Now this isn't to say "Little Nikita" is bad...it just isn't in the same class as the other movie. If you only see one, see "Running on Empty".

So why do I think it's not as good as the other film? Well, it all boils down to realism. While "Running on Empty" seems possible as you watch the film, "Little Nikita" seems to strive less for realism and more for sensationalism. The ending also is confusing and really doesn't make a lot of sense. Still, it's not bad...but seems more like a Hollywood story than anything else. And, the ending also seemed very theatrical and tough to believe...much more than in "Running on Empty".

*A Soviet sleeper agent is someone who is a trained spy but who is waiting instructions...possibly years...to become active in the spy game. In the meantime, they blend in and live typical American lives.

80's spy thriller with a twist

[wrxsti54 · 7/10 · 31 January 2022]

A typical Cold War era US v Soviet spy drama that were a dime a dozen by the mid/late 80's. The plot in Little Nikita explores a family in San Diego where the parents are Soviet sleeper agents embedded in US society for over 20 years. The plot is worth a 5 but what redeems this movie is the 8/9 level performances of the two lead actors, legendary actor Sidney Portier as grizzled FBI agent Roy Parmenter still mourning the loss of his partner at the hands of a Russian agent and then rising teen star River Phoenix as the 17 year old Air Force cadet Jeff Grant, son of Richard (Richard Jenkins) and Elizabeth Grant (Caroline Kava), the sleeper Soviet agent parents running an innocuous garden shop.

The chemistry between one of America's most famous actors and, at the time, one of Hollywood's most promising newcomers, is fabulous. One wonders whether Portier was given some ad-libbing license in the iconic scene where he interviews Jeff Grant at the Air Force Academy in an attempt to lay the groundwork for explaining to him that his parents are Russian spies. River sparks wonderfully off Sidney all through the movie and these two leads make the movie very much worth watching.

River Phoenix did not give quite the same powerful and intense performance as he did later that year in "Running on Empty" (for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar - one of only three teenage male actors to achieve this big milestone, the others being Timothy Hutton in "Ordinary People" and Leonardo diCaprio in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape") nevertheless coming off his breakout role in "Stand By Me" aged 14 and his excellent work a year later alongside Harrison Ford in "The Mosquito Coast", Little Nikita was definitely a movie that demonstrated why River Phoenix was one of greatest young actors of all time.

Give me $200,000 or I vil kill all your agents!

[whatch-17931 · 5/10 · 1 February 2021]

The renegade wants $200k... in 1988. Ten years before Austin Powers, this movie one ups it. Or one downs it. At least the renegade isn't greedy. Or intelligent.

The plot is all so whacky, nearly defies belief. Inexplicable motives by the bad guy, and hilarious incompetence by the US and USSR.

Considering there was literally only one FBI guy assigned to this case- involving over half a dozen Russian agents in the US- , they probably didn't want you to sweat the plot too much. Like a lengthy sequence where a pickup truck struggles to chase a commuter train. Hmm, where might that train be going? Gee, maybe farther down the track?

The Russian agent hangs out in the FBI agent's house so that he can capture Phoenix's character to use as leverage to force Phoenix's sleeper Russian agent parents to give the money to the renegade. Good thing the FBI agent didn't show up a few minutes earlier! It's a painfully glaring example of a script needing to move some characters somewhere else but can't think of any plausible way to make it happen.

And why exactly did the Russian agent keep Phoenix hostage after the handoff went south? Was he really trying to sneak him off to Russia? Despite Phoenix (who IS American) ultimately rebelling... oh, and the fact the FBI WOULD KNOW?

Of course not. Once again, it's painfully clunky script mechanics to get the characters together. Ugh.

Then there's a shootout/hostage situation on a pedestrian bridge at the San Ysidro border crossing, but nobody seems to notice. Yup.

What throws it for a loop is that most of the script would have played better as comedy or satire, but almost all the actors are playing it like a hard core drama. And the acting is really quite solid. Poitier and Phoenix have great chemistry here.

You could practically make a drinking game from how many times Poitier looks at the photos of the parents.

The script is just unbelievably ridiculous. The core of the sleeper agents with an unknowing son was nifty, as well as how this was discovered, by the kid applying to the Air Force without his parents knowing, triggering a background check. But wow did it go south from there.

Considering the renegade Soviet agent is killing people left and right, you'd think there would be some behind the scenes coordination between the US and Russians to solve the problem.

Hasnt aged well

[davyd-02237 · 4/10 · 14 August 2020]

And dont bother watching if you have freeview....a key moment is missed out in the editing which makes the film a little meaningless. Poitier is already too old to be an FBI hero, especially one that doesnt even lock his own front door. Phoenix seems to shout alot and I didnt get much from his performance in this. Bradford and Lynch, who are always good value provide more than a little villainy but its not a film I would wish to watch again, bland-in my view

Espionage At Its Most Mundane

[LeonLouisRicci · 2/10 · 13 July 2013]

Rather flat and without a bit of charm, this is a failure of a Film that is broadly overacted and under Plotted. It assumes much and is delivered in an almost blasé style that goes against the grain of this type of thing.

There is a horribly intrusive, dated Musical Score, and Scenes that are laughably written that come off as unintended Humor. River Phoenix is the worst over-actor here and that is saying something . Because everyone is beyond Characterture and land in the Realm of unbelievable and boring.

This is a Cold War Thriller wannabee with a not aging very well Sidney Poitier giving what seems like a dated, tired Performance. Nothing to recommend here. This is a real sleeper, meaning cured insomnia and not unnoticed or for that matter Spy vs Spys.

Cute spy drama, although about 20 years too late...

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 3 July 2012]

This is the type of film that Hollywood was producing tons of in the mid 1960's, so by 1988, it seemed "old hat". But, if you are going to give it a sort of "brat pack" touch, then this is an acceptable variation of the familiar story. River Phoenix, really hot in 1988, was the Leonardo di Caprio of his time, and he is well cast as a really nice teen who wants to go into the Air Force Academy. Little does he realize that his parents have a secret, and this is where Sidney Poitier comes in. Poitier is a FBI agent who has been trying to find Scuba, the man who killed his partner years ago, and now, he learns that the killer is blackmailing the KGB into paying him off or he will kill the remainder of the Russian spies they sent over during the cold war. Guess who two of those spies are. Poor River Phoenix has his whole world turned upside down when the truth comes out, and its up to Poitier to prevent him and his family from becoming Scuba's next target.

News shots of former movie star Ronald Reagen making peace with the Russian government are briefly seen which sort of the dates the purpose of having even made this movie since the cold war was obviously long over. But it is still presented in an interesting light and is generally entertaining. This is what we referred to in 1988 as a "popcorn movie", something we went to see strictly for entertainment and forgot about by the next day. I will say that the finale is pretty exciting, though, set on the tram that goes from San Diego to the Mexican border. The much missed River Phoenix was a fine young actor whom we lost too early. Along with the excellent nature-battling thriller "Shoot to Kill", this film marked Sidney Poitier's return to acting after a decade, and he is more than welcomed back. The lovely Loretta Devine has a nice small role as the big-hearted guidance counselor Poitier becomes involved with. Richard Jenkins and Caroline Kava are fine as DiCaprio's parents, while Richard Lynch and Richard Bradford are nefariously interesting as the Russians.

average despite Poitier and Phoenix's combined efforts to make it better

[movieman_kev · 5/10 · 13 April 2009]

Roy Parmenter (Sidney Poitier), having a great mistrust for anything Russian, arguably understandably so as his FBI partner had been killed by a Soviet spy codenamed Scuba decades earlier, has to ascertain if Jeff Grant (River Phoenix), a recent Air Force applicant, is in fact a Soviet spy just as his 'sleeper' parents are, while at the same time protecting them from the aforementioned spy who killed his partner all those years ago and whom is now has turned rouge and is killing Soviet agents in an effort to extort money from Russia.

This film is would be a strictly average 'espionage' thriller if not for Poitier and Phoenix who give some excellent acting in a vain attempt to propel this film above it's source material. They're not entirely successful, as the movie is still pretty of the cut and paste variety. But at the same time I do appreciate their combined efforts.

My Grade: C

The talents of two stars could not save this mess

[Davalon-Davalon · 1/10 · 7 November 2022]

There is not one believable moment in this entire film. Not one.

While the concept must have seemed daring at the time, the execution of it was laughable. My husband I watched this and kept saying, "What? Huh? I'm sorry... what? What's going on? What are they doing? Huh?" And when we weren't doing that we were howling, especially as the end unfolded.

I am truly shocked that Sidney Poitier (as "Roy," the FBI agent) agreed to do this. Also, I'm shocked that he agreed to do a scene where he jumps out of bed in his underwear at age 60. It's not that Sidney was out of shape, but it just seemed so bizarre. Maybe that's why he took this part, because he felt it was different than anything else he had done. It was, but it wasn't better, and that is where the problem lies.

Director Richard Benjamin had clearly overdosed on the original "Mission Impossible" TV series in the 1960s, and thought, "This is my chance! Now I can make my own version of it!" But it fails on every single possible level.

River Phoenix as "Jeff" was bursting with talent and good looks. Had he lived, he would have been like Leonardo DiCaprio. He has the looks, the talent and the intensity. And he does his best in this truly horrid movie. What's great is that he can hold his own with Sidney, and they work well together. But it does not make up for the rest of the movie.

We are asked to believe that Richard Jenkins and Caroline Kava are sleeper Russian spies, and that they have lived the last 20 years in California, happily doing their gardening business and raising their beautiful boy "Jeff" (River). And then something happens that forces them to confront their pasts and confess to their son. Although Caroline has a short moment when she speaks Russian (I guess to "prove" that she's Russian), I could not ascertain that anyone, except Richard Bradford as "Konstantin," had any Russian background. The point being: in 1988, you had to speak clear, perfect English. If the movie was made now (God forbid), we'd hear the actors speaking only in Russian and we'd have subtitles.

I could go on, but what's the point? It's convoluted, it's derivative, it's fake, it's calculated, it's over-the-top, it's insane and it has no rhyme or reason for existence.

It really hurts to give this film a 1, because Sidney and River both have amazing gifts, but in this film, it doesn't matter, because the script and the directing and the rest of the casting all add up to spell "disaster."

Intrigue thriller is too hard to follow.

[emm · 5/10 · 16 April 1999]

This sounds really hot for a movie like LITTLE NIKITA: a teenager (River Phoenix, teen heartthrob of the late-80s) becomes caught in a knot when he learns that his parents are Russian spies. It's no wonder why this would be fun with Phoenix in the act (if this is 1988 right now!), or Sidney Poitier doing all sorts of activities to help maintain its entertainment value. Something had to go wrong with the movie in general, and that is an outburst of instant confusion. It took more than one single piece of the plot to put a monkey wrench in the exhaust pipe. A few killings occur, and later it becomes a raging conspiracy. Adding to the panic is the way this movie was presented to a few young teens, with yes, River Phoenix on screen. It had the potential to become a decent modern-day thriller, but it's left without a whole lot of good interaction.

An enjoyable, well acted thriller.

[marcfantozzi · 21 April 2001]

Little Nikita is a well done thriller. I found it entertaining and well acted. I am extremely glad that the lovely Loretta Devine (who played Reese in Urban Legend 1 and 2) had the honour of working with River Phoenix before he died. For fans of River Phoenix and taut thrillers, check this one out.

You Have To Ask Yourself !

[elshikh4 · 5/10 · 8 August 2007]

I sat to watch this one because it came from the 1980s, and had (Sidney Poitier) in it. Although I know so well that this iconic actor made a lot of movies that didn't deserve his talent at all. But let us watch this thriller from 1988..

At first, some ridiculous questions were allowed to be asked such as: If the FBI knows the places of the Russian sleepers (temporarily retired Russian spies), why they didn't warn them at all about this maniac killer?! Or even arrest them in the first place?!!, and if (Poitier) already knew the truth of (River Phoenix)'s parents, what exactly he intended to do with their son by telling him the hidden reality?? Is it for using him to convince his father and mother not to obey (Richard Bradford) the Russian officer?? Maybe. But what's the need of those ones in particular to hand over the money to the killer? And why on earth that very Russian officer phoned the sleepers themselves, after the ballet, from (Poitier)'s apartment?? And if he didn't intent to kidnap their boy, who entered at the same time to the very place so easily!, by what he was going to threaten the previous agents? Especially with the fact of their parents being dead?? And let us look at that scene which has the Russian officer showering, and the killer is here suddenly (with a knife?!), menaces him quickly: "I Want My Money Fast" and runs away!!, to have that miserable fat officer standing under the shower just offended?? So you have to ask yourself why in the world he didn't run after him, after putting on a towel, or why he didn't hold his gun, if he had one!, to shoot the evil guy who had just a knife?? For a second, I thought that there was a secret relationship, or undercover partnership, between both of them. It would've been a good twist, but this movie didn't even think of it!

Anyway, I have some things extra to bother: All of (Poitier)'s work at his office is just looking at the pictures, more than 10 times!, reading names from his computer to discover the reality of the sleepers effortlessly, to the extent that I was saying while watching: "WAW!, the job of the FBI agents is very simple!". Then what's the necessity of his love affair with the school's employee (Poitier was 61 years old at the time)?, and when it comes to the end of the movie, I just wonder why the Russian officer kidnapped the boy to have this long chase?! I believe not to kill him for sure, but to negotiate with the Americans to get the killer in his custody, however the movie made him kill the killer with the American FBI agent in the same time! So long live the peace agreement, and goodbye to the old cold war! Remember that the movie is produced in 1988. Namely after Gorbachev, Perestroika, The Geneva Summit, then the INF Treaty. But anyhow, you have to ask yourself what the killer would have earned by throwing the boy out of the bridge?! And what a moment when all the money went to the two very poor emigrants by pure coincidence, just to till us how America is so generous and kind to anyone who would resort to it! By the way, there is a strange guy appears in that scene, out of the blue, to stand beside (Poitier) and talk with him about the continuance of life! So (Poitier) responds in his wise tone: "Yes, same all same all!!". Who is that guy? And from where did he emerge?!

Well, it was very ambitious movie with a catchy story and unpredictable thrilling lines: The FBI old agent who wants to fulfill his old revenge, the nice relationship between the mentor (Poitier) and Little Nikita (Phoenix), what would you do if you discovered that your parents weren't the ones you know??, and that serial killer for the old spies who was chased by the Americans and the Russians too. All of this was so bright, but unfortunately the main big mistake was in THE SCRIPT which was incapable of building solider plot without any holes.

So, the most enjoyable things in here are: The potential of the story, the magical charisma of the old (Sidney Poitier), and his chemistry with the young (River Phoenix), (Marvin Hamlisch)'s stylish music, and the good chase at the end. Save that, I think that a lot of people may forget about this movie. And if you don't believe me, just ask yourself, for the very last time, why there are no more than 9 reviews in here about this movie, after nearly 20 years of its production!