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.

This thriller from veteren John Frankenheimer is pure excellence, the script, acting and action are top draw. De Niro and Reno are brilliant in this as of course you would expect from two such excellent actors. The action scenes are pulse pounding and particularly excellent are the car chases, probably the best ever. Not only did the stunt guys risk their lives but the guys shooting the action captured some truly thrilling close up view from the cars as they speed along. The action also carries a certain degree of realism to it, the shootouts are sensible and the car chases and crashes seem very genuine no massive corkscrewing threw the air like most car chases or cars jumping 100 feet in the air like in Gone in 60 seconds, which is all very good but not for this sort of thriller. The pacing of the film was great and there was a constant chilling atmosphere. As I said before Robert De Niro and Jean Reno were exceptional particularly in their scenes together. The support cast are good too with a brief but excellent display from Sean Bean and Natasha Mchelhone and Jonathan Pryce are both good as Irish terrosists with comendable accents. All in all a very god way to spend a few hours.

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.

A great movie that you can't just watch with one eye. It starts slow, laying a strong foundation, and if it's on TV, it's easy to get lost by not paying attention at the beginning. However, it's an outstanding film, exploring the characters with a huge action movie in the background.

It's visually interesting and doesn't ever let you know the things you think you need to know, but by the end you've forgotten that you wanted to know them in the first place. Robert DeNiro gives a strong performance and doesn't get lost in some of the showiness he can deliver when he's making up for a weaker story, and the supporting cast is full of familiar faces, many of which blend so well into the characters they play that, again, you can become lost in the story (although this time, it a good way).

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.