"What's in the case?"      

RONIN (R) 

Reviewed September 26, 1998 - Check out the Ronin Website.

Ronin: a Samurai without a master, forced to survive as swords-for-hires in feudal Japan.

Set in modern-day France, Ronin (the film) presents us with a band of five international guns-for-hire.  Sam (Robert DeNero) is a tough ex-CIA operative who's taking these types of jobs strictly for the money.  He is joined by Vincent (Jean Reno), a Frenchman and the group's locale expert; Gregor (Stellan Skarsgaard), an ex-KGB electronics expert; Larry (Skipp Sudduth), an experienced driver; and Spence (Sean Bean), a weapons expert.  Hired by an Irish group represented by Deirdre (Natascha McElhone), this band of mercenaries is sent to steal a mysterious and closely-guarded silver case--contents unknown but of great value to a number of groups. 

Directed by John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate), Ronin is an action-adventure-thriller that's part Mission: Impossible and part James Bond.  It is in many ways, however, also so much better.  With a wealth of charismatic personalities (including Jonathan Pryce as Deidre's boss) on-screen, Ronin is a film that's loaded with talent, and it really does show.  The characters here are extremely complex in their selfishness and brutality, with DeNiro in particular at his gritty best and with Reno and Skarsgaard more than holding their own.  As loyalties and motives dramatically shift in this film, these characters keep us glued to the screen as we attempt to understand who they really are...a real treat in the often one-dimensional world of action-adventure films.

But wait!  Before you start thinking that Ronin is some sort of high-browed artsy character piece of a film, you should know that this film is also one explosive action picture.  Taking full advantage of the beautiful French locale, Ronin is packed with cool cars, fast guns, and even a couple of shoulder-launched missiles.  It is, in fact, an extremely violent film with a total body count that would impress even the Schwarzenegger/Stallone set.  The difference is in how the action is delivered, and in this case it's delivered in a stylish, rhythmic manner that's not only entertaining but also makes sense in terms of plot progression.  Indeed, there's one particularly complex and dizzying car-chase sequence that I will not soon forget (and is almost worth the price of admission).  

In short, then, Ronin is definitely a film to see.  It's smart, it's stylish, and it's a must for fans of this genre.  There is unfortunately an awkward romantic subplot between Sam and Deirdre that slightly detracts from this film's strengths, but the overall effect remains entertaining and definitely watchable.  Would-be action-thriller screenwriters take note: when it's done right, it really doesn't matter what's in the case...

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

roninfan gives this movie  stars: "The pace of this movie was excellent along with it's good job of adhering to a sense of reality, unlike films of the Bond genre. For a change, the heros do get hurt in the line of duty, innocent bystanders are shot, run over, and completely ignored. Most of the action is believable if at times improbable. The acting is excellent by excellent performers who have a lot of charisma. Jean Reno and DiNiro are great. I've been waiting for a "spy" movie along the lines of le Carre's novels (which have been done on public tv very well) and this movie is the closest I've seen. If you're a fan of European locations and fast cars, that alone should guarantee you'll enjoy this." (10/20/99)

d-park@cornell-iowa.edu gives this movie  stars: "Ronin could've been called "Car Chase" with how much time that was devoted to chase scenes through the streets of France. No hint at Princess Di's chase either. Ronin proved to be the rough cut of the French Connection, only released many years later. The movie had a plot which held up to a certain point, but then left the viewer with no idea as to why anyone in the movie did what they did. The use of the term Ronin was more "showy" than anything, trying to make it sound "cool and warrior-like" when most of the main characters were too fragile looking to be acquainted with samurai warriors. Time that could've been spent on developing characters was foresaken for chase scenes and gun battles. To anyone who is actually expecting good gun fights, don't get excited. I'm still wondering how people standing perfectly still, while firing small pistols, can kill all the evil doers and their machine guns. I guess machine guns just aren't as effective as they used to be. To make the simple point, Ronin tried to do action, but pushed it so much that it became repetitive and therefore boring. When it tried to push the character developement, it opted for a romance between De Niro and his boss which had no chemistry what so ever. All your left with is a movie that had a chance, but left it in order to try to tie everything together easily and simply. This however, doesn't work when you are promoting a movie that's point is to be complex. " (12/13/98)

anonymous entry gives this movie  stars: "I can't believe you gave this film such a rave review. Not only did it revisit every international spy film in the last 25 years, it did so badly --- terrible sound, worse dialogue, too much moodiness & not enough substance to support it. The only thing good about the film is France and, hey, why not watch a travel documentary instead??" (9/28/98)