Ronin

Rating:
Summary: Best driving scenes ever.
Review: The driving scenes are absolutely brilliant. The director's commentary on the DVD is very informative. It turns out there's a reason the driving looks so good....

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Summary: Finally, a REAL car chase.
Review: Tired of fancy-schmancy movies with those ridiculously unbelievable car chases where no civilians ever get hurt, or there aren't any fellow motorists or pedestrians in the first place? Well, "Ronin" is your answer.
There are two magnificent car chases in this movie, both excellently directed and shot from perfect camera angles. The first scene involves a NOS-equipped Audi S8, an oldish Benz turbodiesel, and a cargo van, all three of which are chasing the bad guys in their four black sedans. Barely missing dozens of vehicles AND pedestrians, they scream through France on a gravel road, the streets, and back alleys, through the latter of which they usually only have about one foot between them and the walls. The chase ends with the good guys running the bad guys off and into the patio of a restaurant, running over another couple dozen of people.
The second car chase is even BETTER than the first; it's a Peugeot chasing an older M5 again through France. This chase involves HUNDREDS of cars, many of which get believably destroyed as the two cars creat many, many car crashes. The best part of this chase is when they run through a tunnel in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION! And the road wasn't exactly empty.
Anyways, this is absolutely BELIEVABLE. It is by far the most realistic car chase ever. Ever.
And in between those car chases is a pretty damn good story.

Rating:
Summary: Great car chases! Great movie!
Review: This is an old fashion sort of flick, the car chases are absolutely some of the best I have seen. If you see if on DVD you will get to see the ending Mr. Frankenheimer first intended. It is better but movies are a business after all and the majority liked the finish they put in. The alternate ending is more believable for this sort of tale.

The characters are good, there are some major stars in the flick but they don't compete! There isn't any sort of scene stealing. This is refreshing and points to their professionalism.

Some people don't get the relationship between the name of the movie and the tale it tells, but it is actually obvious.

Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: De Niro excellent in old-fashioned thriller
Review: In ancient Japan, a ronin was a samurai warrior whose master had been killed in disgrace. When this happened, the ronin lost his reason for being a soldier and often began a career as a hired assassin or mercenary. This bit of history acts as a metaphor for the characters in the film, Ronin.

Robert de Niro is Sam, a middle-aged former CIA agent who, claiming to be broke, takes a job with a mysterious group in France. In Paris he meets the rest of the team. They include Vincent [Jean Reno], an ex French espionage agent, and Diedre [Natascha McElhone], who is in charge of the group and who was probably a major player in the IRA. The mission is to steal a package from another group, which is apparently manned with other former agents. The metaphor quickly begins to unfold. Like those ancient ronins, these people were fighters in causes that have ceased to exist. The difference is that their masters were political ones. They now double-cross and double deal for no noble purpose.

In true thriller style, neither we nor the gang members are privy to the contents of this package. The contents become almost beside the point, as we watch these cynical, disenchanted characters chase after something they are willing to kill for. It's what they were trained to do, and that's what they do, even now that their reasons are vague, if not nonexistent.

There are many good things about Ronin. I do not entirely agree with the general critical consensus that this is a grand return to days of stylish, inventive movie thrillers. True, there is no reliance on computerized special effects. It does contain two of the most spectacular car chases ever put on film. De Niro, as can be expected, is head and shoulders above the average modern anti-hero. But hasn't he always been better? Currently, as shown by him in Wag the Dog, Jackie Brown and this movie, he is in his deeply cynical phase. Expect him to mellow out in a few years.

It is great to see 69-year old director John Frankenheimer back in the genre that made him famous. Two of his movies, The Manchurian Candidate [1962] and Seconds [1966], are two of the greatest thrillers ever made. But Ronin, while retaining essence of his earlier work, displays some unpleasant modern traits. Traditionally, the great car chases, as well as those on foot, have taken place in crowded cities or on busy highways. This heightens the suspense. The prototype of the modern chase was created in a brilliant 1969 film called Bullet. In it, cars careened around in a most spectacular setting - the streets of San Francisco. The ones in Ronin take place in the twisting streets of European cities, but unlike their predecessors, Ronin's characters manage to kill a number of innocent bystanders in the process. In real life, that's exactly what would happen, but this realistic approach backfires. I was disturbed by the fact that none of these deaths were ever referred to either in the film or by anyone I know who saw it. Movies about morally corrupt characters are acceptable, but it seems to me that some film makers today assume the audience is also corrupt. Surely, that's a fallacy on their part.

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Summary: Ronin and the rogue samurais in the film
Review: A karate person has the stance of a martial artist and that is the stance that Sean Bean has in this film as "Spence" who is a vital part of the "hit" team, he is the weapons specialist, he is calm, says nothing, stays alone, and is questioned by the other members of the team if he is a "real" guns specialist, and does not belong to SAS. Spense does not take kindly to the choice of weapons that they would like him th use,and he does another weapon hidden in his coat pocket, he knows that he is being set up, and does what is called "protect" the other members of the team. He leaves silently the next day paid off. He is a character that you have questions about. Its Sean Bean as a terrorist, and rogue samurai, one who peddles his skills for hire, and then moves on to another job. Its Spence the way he should be played. Calm, professional and yes, he is real, he is not a "fake" which is what the other members of the team want him to admit. Its an intense role for Sean to play, its a very serious role, and its too brief. He does his job with the stance of a martial artist, meets his opponents, and then is released as a team member. He is a man who works well alone, his character needs to live by his wits, and alone, and that is what you do not see him do in Ronin. You see him question the authority of the other team members. Its Sean Bean at his best, and yes it you would like to find out more about Sean, I have the Sean Bean Club on Yahoo, and yes we have been on the net for a little while, but we run an immaculate club, because Yahoo has children on the clubs as well as adults. Ronin is not for some viewers, but if you like DeNiro and Bean together you will enjoy this film!

Rating:
Summary: Should have been better...but worth seeing once
Review: You'd think the combination of Robert DeNiro and action/thriller director John Frankenheimer ("Grand Prix," "Seven Days in May," "The Manchurian Candidate") would give audiences a thrill ride to remember. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

A potentially intriguing idea falls short of real satisfaction. In the post Cold War era, former agents, smugglers, spies, mercenaries and the like stay in business by selling their services to anyone who needs a job done discreetly and quietly-with no questions asked. Like the masterless samurai of old (hence the title), these individuals are men and women without a country, with no ties and often no loyalties. A loose group of mercenaries--American, Irish, French, etc--is offered substantial money to transport a briefcase--contents unknown--to a client. But other seek to capture the briefcase, and there may be treachery in the group's midst.

There's really no character development, mostly short snippets of personal information that's supposed to pass for substance and motivation (although money motivates them all), and there's not much story to fill the spaces between some truly hair-raising and dynamic car chases (a Frankenheimer specialty; see "Grand Prix"). The performances aren't bad, with DeNiro making his character moderately interesting. The always welcome (and often underused and underrated) French actor Jean Reno provides the best performance, giving his character a certain cocky confidence. A few other action segments may hold a viewer's interest, and there are a couple of twists near the end. (Sharp observors may see them coming, though.) But there's so little else to hold the film together that one may become bored waiting for the next chase or shootout.

Ultimately, "Ronin" disappoints, though there's enough
action and intrigue to provide decent entertainment. The chases alone--especially the one on the narrow mountain road--are worth the price of the movie--some stunt coordinator certainly earned his pay! See also Luc Besson's "The Professional," and fans of "Ronin" may also like "Bullitt" and "The French Connection," both known for action, intrigue, and fantastic chases.

Rating:
Summary: movie_fanatic
Review: When I first saw "Ronin" in a theater it instantly tied for first place (along with "Blade Runner") on my all-time favorites list. While not a film for casual viewing "Ronin" will reward an attentive viewer with insight on how to do a movie right. The pacing appears leisurely but this is deceptive. Every scene is loaded with visual cues that combine with each line of dialogue (and absence of dialogue) to constuct a mental image of contemporary international intrigue.
"Ronin" is the term used in feudal Japan to describe masterless samurai. While it was generally used in a derogatory fashion to indicate warriors that had failed their master by allowing them to be slain it could also apply for other reasons, such as their no longer being needed for various reasons. Such is the case here with the principals being orphaned by the end of the Cold War. Left only with skills no longer in constant demand there is little choice beyond hiring themselves out on a contract basis.

John Frankenheimer obviosly chose the shooting locations with great care as each becomes, in effect, a cast member adding a vital element to the production. Often less than opulent they depict the mundane sites from which great, sometimes unknown, actions can originate.
For action fans there are not one but two of the best car chase sequences ever filmed. The actors are intimately involved rather than being "blue screened" in. More importantly the sequences are fully justified by the plot developments as opposed to being thrown in as token action.
Along with others I wish the DVD was a "Special Edition" but am content with the current release and it's director's narration which provides insight into not only the film but filmaking in general and Mr. Frankenheimer.
A "must have" for any film fan.

Rating:
Summary: When Ideologies are gone, then what?
Review: I didn't think I would like this flick but after watching it once, I was hooked. It's a good story of people whose lives were spent fighting for idealogies that no longer exist. How do they fill the void? Money, danger, the usual opiates of society.
De Niro plays a member of a ragtag group of former spies, etc. who are hired by an Irish group to steal a briefcase. No one knows what is in it, and honestly no one cares. De Niro is excellent, as in everything he does, and believable as an ex-CIA burned out hasbeen.
The action is terrific, with some of the best driving sequences I've seen. Double-crossing and double-double crossing is the rule of the day. Eventually, it turns out that De Niro is actually after the head of the Irish group, a known terrorist, who is a major impediment to peace talks in N. Ireland. At the end of the flick, a radio announcer comments that with the recent death of this leader, peace is assured in Ireland after centuries of fighting. This answers the question of whether everything was worth it.
The DVD shows an alternative ending that is grimmer and probably more realistic. But sometimes, too much realism [hurts].

One of my favorites.

Rating:
Summary: Cartoon with pretensions to depth.
Review: 'Ronin' is a perpetuum mobile of action set-pieces, pursuit and flight, by car or on foot. Fans were delighted that in an age of limitless technological gadgetry, the tough, narrow, 70s-style crime thriller could still find a place, where speeding cars genuinely terrorised crowded streets, where market barrows were set up to be knocked down, where ancient monuments and picturesque old lanes gave a Hitchcockian frisson to the various chases. The dank and dark atmosphere, the shorthand psychology, the terse dialogue and tough poses all added to a nostaliga of integrity harking bak to 'Bullit' and 'The French Connection'. It didn't seem to matter that the various plot points necessary to drive and tidy up the plot were preposterously contrived; that the backdrop of Russians and rogue-IRA operatives was closer to cartoon than James Bond ever was; that grimaces and twitches were substituted for actual acting (with the honorable eception of Jonathan Pryce who, despite borrowing his Irish accent from Julia Roberts, has a genius moment when long-wished for success is interrupted).

Not only does the film recall 'classic' 70s policiers, but also the film that influenced them, Melville's 'Le Samourai', as it transposes Japanese warrior culture to pastiche film noir. Here, however, the Orientalism seems tacked on, the idea of 'masterless samurai' a nonsense not fully worked out in its 'modernised' context, and 'explained' by one silly dialogue scene between De Niro and an againg Matt Groening-lookalike, which suggests the screenwriters weren't totally convinced either. No, it is Melville's master whose spirit drives this film, John Huston: 'Ronin' is a study in male endeavour, female treachery and the elevation of failure to a moral code. It's watchable enough, but it feels very tired.

Rating:
Summary: Must see to be belived.
Review: Amazing car chases through some very beautiful scenery.
Deniro is completely believable as an old spy, Jena reno is equally great as always. Both on the same screen is just a bonus.
Sean Bean as a creepy wanna be. Frankenheimer still has what todays directors need to learn.