Little Nikita (1988): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1988, Little Nikita is an action, thriller and drama film directed by Richard Benjamin, running about 98 minutes. “He went to bed an all-American kid and woke up the son of Russian spies.” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Roy Parmenter is an FBI agent in San Diego; 20 years ago his partner was killed by a Soviet spy, nicknamed Scuba, still at large. Scuba is now trying to extort the Soviets; to prove he's serious, he's killing their agents one by one, including "sleepers," agents under deep cover awaiting orders. Roy interviews a high school lad, Jeff Grant, an applicant to the Air Force Academy. In a routine background check, Roy discovers that Jeff's parents are sleepers. He must see if Jeff is also a spy, confront the parents yet protect them, and catch his nemesis. Meanwhile, the Soviets have sent their own spy-catcher, the loner Karpov, to reel in Scuba. Alliances shift; it's cat and mouse.

Who’s in it. Little Nikita stars Sidney Poitier as Roy Parmenter, River Phoenix as Jeff Grant, Richard Jenkins as Richard Grant and Caroline Kava as Elizabeth Grant, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.9/10, Little Nikita has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. In US you can rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Little Nikita page.

If you liked it. Fans of Little Nikita tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.