Ronin

A pretty decent action outing for Robert De Niro and John Frankenheimer. Good photography of some of the seedier neighborhoods of Paris and other French cities. This film is quintessential De Niro, and he gets all the good lines. There is an interesting revelation at the end, which I will not reveal here. The case everyone is after, is a complete McGuffin, what Hitchcock called that plot device, the thing which everyone wants, and it doesn't really matter exactly what that is. I think that Frankenheimer may have been paying homage to Hitchcock on this, as what is in the case is never revealed. Apparently David Mamet was the script doctor on this film, and it ended up OK. I am of two minds on Mamet, having liked "The Untouchables" a lot, and disliked "Glengarry Glen Ross" and loathed "Oleanna". I also liked Natascha McElhone, who I had never heard of. She is a beautiful and accomplished actress. Some people complained about her brogue. OK, she's not Meryl Streep. But then again, who is? A lot of actors won't even try. I look forward to seeing more of her.

Oh, yeah, and some of the car chases were really, really cool, almost McQueenian.

Suffused with a sense of twilight melancholy and pre-millennial nostalgia, John Frankenheimer's end-of-career genre masterwork Ronin is an unapologetic old-fashioned caper playing as the perfect reaction to a formally ubiquitous genre, the Cold War-era espionage Euro-thriller. The film savours a haunting final gasp just prior to being downsized by 21st-century Bourne-driven techno-overload and an onslaught of bloodless PG-13 CGI spectacles. It shows the talent of Frankenheimer that he manages to take what is essentially a rather one-note often contrived story and turn it into something truly special, approaching the material with seriousness, commitment and professionalism. Lean, sleek, spare, almost minimalist; it's like watching the revival of a forgotten art form. The fact that it's done with a minimum of special effects makes it all the more stirring, a tribute to the film's earnestness that we can overlook most of its absurdities and simply revel in its deeds. Elevated by its talent in front and behind the camera, the winning combination of Robert De Niro and Jean Reno imbues the film with a likeable brothers-in-arms chemistry that sees the duo at the peak of their prowess; while Robert Fraisse's photography and Elia Cmiral's score construct a believable and lived-in atmosphere of hyperrealism. Carried by a style that's fast, furious and impeccably paced, at the time of release, Ronin might have seemed like an efficient vehicle, nowadays it's more akin to a classic car, one with exceptional class you won't find in most automobiles today.

Now THIS is what I call an action movie. Combine a brilliant cast (Robert De Niro + the underrated Jean Reno, Sean Bean amongst them) with brilliant action scenes - gun fights and car chases are both top notch here; in fact, they're some of the best that have been put on film ever, and stand the rest of time really well (watching in 2022g - with lots of exotic European locals, like Paris and Nice, and a touch of swirling intrigue thrown in for good measure and you have a really great film.

De Niro plays a no-nonsense American mercenary hired by someone shadowy to retrieve a case. He doesn't know much more than that, except the folks currently in control of it are willing to kill to keep it in their possession. Lots of sketchy actors on both sides, including Russians and Irish!

One of the best action films of the late '90s. A group of mercenaries deals with a job that from the beginning was expected to be difficult. An outstanding cast, with great interpretations by De Niro and Jean Reno. The narrative has the usual plot holes of a spy/conspiracy film, but apart from that, it is a lesson in how to make a good film within the genre, with well-crafted twists and intense and credible dialogues. 'Ronin' continues to have, in my opinion, one of the best car chase scenes ever. If you like the '70s and '80s classics, you will like this one as well.

For its genre, Ronin is a good film. I don't think it's quite fair to criticize it for what it is not, such as saying that it's a poor film because there are movies out there with better car chases.

I saw it at the theatre and thought it was OK, saw it on video expecting to be more disappointed, and actually liked it better the second time.

I don't think the plot is as difficult to understand as some might claim. I had no trouble following it. Whether or not it's credible, well, how many action films are? It's credible enough for me to watch it and not say is this ever stupid. That's about all that I look for in an action film, sorry to say.

I actually enjoyed the dialogue for the most part. DeNiro and Reno in particular were solid. The film did begin to fade towards the end, especially once everyone was in the skating arena. I appreciated Frankenheimer showing as much of France as he did. That was a bonus.

So, yes, I could point to a number of flaws in Ronin. But, perhaps because of my low esteem for action films overall, I would say it's a worthwhile watch if you're an action fan, or a DeNiro fan, as I am.