10 Most Badass Movie Hitmen

It's with good reason that Leon is also known as “The Professional”. In Luc Besson's movie he proves himself an incredibly ruthless, highly skilled killer (or “cleaner” as he likes to call himself) from start to finish. To begin with, Leon is the archetypal silent but deadly loner. He keeps to himself and simply goes about his job with systematic precision. After he takes Natalie Portman’s orphan Matilda under his wing however, a more human side to Leon begins to emerge.

Jean Reno is perfect for this role, his man of few words comes across as someone who is an absolute master in the art of killing, but who is almost endearingly naive in so many other respects.

It's testament to just how strong his skillset is however that he is able to train a 12 year old girl in the ways of professional killing so quickly. Regardless of his emerging sense of compassion, Leon shows throughout the film that he is an incredibly efficient killer, taking out an assortment of thugs in a number of bloody ways.

He remains a true professional to the very end.