In 1992 in Bogota, nine-year-old Cataleya watches as a drug lord's men kill her father, a criminal who had tried to leave the business behind. Before he dies, he hands her a memory card he calls her passport, and the girl makes her way to the United States. There, her uncle Emilio, based in Chicago, agrees to teach her his trade. Fifteen years later, Cataleya is an accomplished assassin who leaves a flower at each killing, with one aim: to draw the attention of the man who ordered the slaughter. Her trail eventually catches the eye of FBI agent Ross.

How it was made

The project grew out of a planned sequel to Léon starring an adult Natalie Portman, which was never made after disagreements between Luc Besson and the studio. Besson and Robert Mark Kamen wrote the screenplay, reusing some of that material and reshaping it into a standalone film. Olivier Megaton directed, and EuropaCorp, Besson's company, produced. Filming began in August 2010 in Chicago, New Orleans, Mexico and Colombia. One critical essay argued that the film mimics the look of a Hollywood production while adding a non-American twist.

Reception and legacy

Critics were largely unfavourable, giving it a score of 45 out of 100 on Metacritic. Zoe Saldaña's performance and the action sequences were nonetheless praised. Audiences were kinder, with an A- grade from CinemaScore. It was a moderate commercial success, grossing about 63.5 million dollars against a 40 million budget. The Colombian nonprofit PorColombia criticised it for portraying the country negatively, and Saldaña responded to the controversy with visible irritation.