Nikita

Based on Luc Besson's 1999 film La Femme Nikita (and mercifully, less cheesy than the 1997-2001 Peta Wilson TV Series), this promising adaptation follows the same premise. [10 Sep 2010, p.83]

Nikita is a breakthrough for teen-happy CW, its riskiest show yet--one aimed at adults. It's one they might enjoy.

Pretty much all a fan (or critic) could ask of a cult series remake is this: Does the newbie measure up? Based on all available evidence--the 42-minute premiere--the answer is yes.

Though Nikita is certainly dark, it's not as unbearably so as the USA cable version, which was too slick and soulless for its own good. The new version feels much more like a rollicking popcorn thrill ride.

Putting aside for a moment questions about whether it signifies the imminent collapse of Western civilization and even the human reproductive impulse, this version of Nikita can still provide a rollicking, if slightly psychotic, good time.

"Fun" hasn't been a big part of her job description, but she may have found some of it here.

If I had to choose between this and watching Michael Scott take a final lap around the tired Office halls of Dunder Mifflin on NBC--its dreadful companion comedy Outsourced isn't even an option--I'm leaning toward the drop-dead-deadly assassin.

When it comes to espionage stories or action-adventure in general, originality isn't as crucial as a good execution of the basics, and in that regard, the first hour of Nikita delivers.

The latest incarnation, Nikita, which begins on the CW network on Thursday, is a surprisingly sophisticated and satisfying adaptation.

CW's Nikita remake isn't nearly as awful as you'd imagine. In fact, it's remarkably good.

The CW under the direction of McG (does anybody have a full name anymore?) has made a fresh, terrific and terrifically silly Nikita.

It's a well-woven tale, with the different strings hanging together nicely and leading off in a few directions you might not expect. The direction is crisp, the cast is fine, the loopholes are mostly closed and the secret-agency/new-identity world is generally convincing, making this in some sense a version of Dollhouse that works better than the original.

You might remember that because Nikita is aimed directly at 24 fans. Not as ambitious nor as entertaining, it is just as decidedly unbelievable yet diverting.

Nikita is good, but it's not transcendent.

While Q is probably more adept at flaunting her butt-kicking skills than emoting, the pilot is head-turning enough to warrant a second look at the show.

Amid such generic plotting, the show serves up an extended action sequence in a hotel that's nicely shot and choreographed, establishing the template for other fight scenes. It appears that Nikita is going to be a down-and-dirty brawling kind of series, where martial arts serve a function besides looking really cool.

The pilot comes across top-heavy with exposition and flashbacks that lay out a dense backstory. While a rich mythology typically is mandatory for an espionage series to attract a cult following, it could prove a barrier to entry when piled too high at the beginning.

If you don't want or need to be surprised, it's a pretty well-paced, gorgeously shot and fast-moving pilot, and Maggie Q, who is practically computer-designed to play the role, seems worth all the publicity investment The CW has placed in her.

Ms. Q's Nikita is only half so crush-worthy as Bionic Woman's Jaime Sommers or Dollhouse's what's-her-name, but her predicament is no less tasty.

The CW remake isn't awful, by any means. The pilot rushes ahead nicely, with a twist at the end that gestures toward many possible future plotlines. But we've seen the whole thing many times before.

It's difficult to make cold-blooded and calculating people interesting and empathetic, and yet it must be done. Because fight scenes will take you only so far. Especially when there are no big dance numbers.

"Doll House" covered this territory with more creativity, but we could always use another female superhero on TV. Especially one who has mastered the technology of the "lipstick bomb."

It's an hour that you'll be able to understand and appreciate, even if you love "Sons of Anarchy" more. Sometimes it's fun to take a spin on your old bike, so to speak.

Even with its ample servings of va-va-boom, a lot of edgy potential is wasted in Nikita, the CW's retinkering of the much-tinkered-with story of the sexy assassin who is betrayed and hunted by "the Division," the top-secret government agency that trained her.

What I can say is that despite my admiration for an energetic performance by Q (between "Hellcats" and "Nikita," the CW seems determined to show its new stars getting more of a workout than you'll see on, say, "Gossip Girl"), and a lingering fondness for West that goes all the way back to "Once and Again," there was nothing in tonight's episode that made me care enough about any of these characters to spend a single unpaid minute with them.

Producers of The CW's new series have taken the bones of the Nikita story and grafted on a new recruits sub-plot, sort of ideal for young CW audience, but it also makes for a convoluted series pilot that bounces around from one hollow story line to another.