Ronin

Rating:
Summary: Damn Fine Chase Car Scene
Review: Okay High Def owners. Okay, Super Surround Owners. Bored? Not enough eye candy? Not dodging your speaker's sounds? Get Ronin. Bobby Deniro and Jean Reno[The Professional] are enough reasons to get this thriller. But the car chase scene filmed with Frankenheimer's briliance is off the charts fantastic. This, to me is why DVD should exist. Brilliant sound. Brilliant video. If you don't dodge and weave inside the car while they're barreling down the streets of Nice, France like bats out of hell then I quit. If you have a progressisve scan DVD and a digital video source I promise you'll be pleased. The 5.1 digital sound dosen't disappoint either. It even includes an offbeat love story for that significant other who would otherwise be playing with your ears or something instead of watching the blood and guts. As you can see I highly recommend this DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Car Chase Classic of the 1990s...and oh the locales!
Review: Plot be damned, this is a fine film, using the dark gritty formula of days long past. Of course, it also calls on the skills of an incredible array of stunt drivers to deliver the chase sequences, in place of savvy camera angles and computer generation. The chase sequences, whether on foot or on wheels are just exhillarating!

Other reviewers have covered the plot enough for you, what little there is. Some reviewers have spoiled some of the double crosses for you (shame on them). I'll stick to an assessment of the film's merits.

Performances: Outstanding! Again, in the dark fashion of 1970s noir. This is not a DeNiro film. Its an ensemble, so be sure to catch Pryce, Skarsgaard, and the others. And everyone plays an intensely dark character. Pryce's and Skarsgaard's characters are among the most vile I've seen in a while.

Chase/action sequences: The film's real star. For cinema car chase buffs, this is the Bullitt of the 1990s...there is no question. Ok, maybe the Bullitt/Italian Job of the 1990s. But while the Steve McQueen classic relied on one car chase and little else, this film has two incredible chase sequences, one in the French countryside, and the other in the heart of Paris. If there's one detractor to the chase sequences its that parts of it take place in the very tunnels where Princess Diana was killed (it was filmed shortly after her death). Some might view that as tacky, but there are segments that demonstrate just how her death probably occurred. The Paris chase sequence is particularly brutal but it is delicious film fare.

Even the chase sequences on foot look like they hurt. There's one segment in an outdoor amphitheater that made me wince...that had to hurt!

Cinematography: First rate. The arial shot of the exploding Citroen as it rockets down a highway in the French countryside should be in your Fodor's travelogue, as should the scenes where cars are plowing into quaint outdoor cafes. I don't think there's a part of France I didn't explore (and lay to waste) after viewing this film. And it makes me want to go there. Perhaps they will have the outdoor cafes rebuilt by the time I get there.

Bottom line: This film is not to be missed for old school action film fans. Matrix fans, you ain't got nothin on this film.

Rating:
Summary: yay
Review: This is a film which exceeds all expectations, with a clever plot which improves with multiple viewings, one of the few films to do so. And the car chases are sooooo fantastic. Anyone who falls asleep in this film should rreturn to their [blah] disney films with a plot for their mental age, 'cos this is obviously too complicated for them. Even with the main characters being Irish this does not hamper the plot or decrease the viewability. Thsi is one film you MUST see.

Rating:
Summary: A timeless action flick
Review: Tight plot, a fast car, great action sequences and a superb cast -- this is one of the best in its genre. This role is not a new character for DeNiro (tough smart guy) but the interplay between he and Jean Reno is very good. The girl (isn't there always one in spy flicks?) is a real bombshell and not at all gratuitous. The look & feel of this film is modern day "French Connection." Action flick junkies will like this film.

Rating:
Summary: Ronin was Over-Rated
Review: Man....I tried to watch this movie twice...fell asleep both time....it's boring and over-rated...shame in the great Robert De Niro...

Rating:
Summary: Post Cold War Samurai Soldiers
Review: "Ronin", is for everyone who enjoys Robert DeNiro, a great spy tale, a host of great supporting actors, and some of the more amazing car chases filmed on Europe's very narrow, pre-automotive designed streets. The word Ronin describes a Samurai who has lost his master, and in this film, the word serves as a metaphor for cold warriors that no longer have the same Cold War to fight. The threats are not gone only changed, so the great games that have played host to a variety of films and movies are still available to talented writers and directors who can adapt.

A great deal of the action takes place at high speed on either very narrow urban roads, or wildly twisting mountain stretches that lack the same manner of safety barriers we are accustomed to in The USA, that make the chase scenes all the more amazing. The director and other key players who made the film have racing backgrounds which allowed them to bring a type of realism that goes beyond the typical Hollywood chase.

Jean Reno, Natascha Mcelhone, Stellan Skarsgard, Sean Bean, and Jonathan Pryce all make for a wonderful ensemble cast. The chase is for a case, and the cast that is assembled are allegedly a team in the hunt for a box that no one knows the contents of. The traditional players like the Russians are involved, the CIA, and then the new Russians along with the Irish, and members of agencies that either are active or are not, you never know until the film ends. And even when it does, the DVD offers an alternate ending that changes in a very dramatic manner how the film you just watched concluded.

"Ronin", is a very good film, a definite cut above the average, and well worth the one minute and two hours of your time it will occupy.

Rating:
Summary: Not your everyday espionage film
Review: Deniro is excellent in it, fans of the Professional will recognize Jean Reno as his french sidekick. Not your run of the mill spy movie becuase theres no fancy gagdets or unbelievable [things] going on. Just straight up wits and intuition lead Deniro on his path. Very realistic downtown gun battles and car chases because lots of innocents get wasted, and you as well as I would hate to be in a French bistro on the day it all went down!

Rating:
Summary: Better every time
Review: I can no longer count how many times I have seen this movie. Instead of becoming bored, I am still just as engaged as when I first saw it. This is an incredible film.

Excitement and intelligence are everywhere. From the beginning, we are following professionals who plan to steal a package, and from the very beginning we know they are the best. They are working together, but they are wary of sharing too much. Among the group are a driver, a munitions expert, a computer expert, a procurement man, and DeNiro. It is never quite stated why he was originally chosen.

Robert DeNiro seems to be slow in keeping up with the rest, but then we realize that he is simply meticulous in his work. The more we watch, the more we realize that he is best of the group. DeNiro is fabulous in this role. His intensity here reminds me of his intensity in "Heat."

I recommend watching this film.

Rating:
Summary: Oh MAN you gotta see this masterpiece thriller!
Review: This is an absolutely AWESOME movie! I can't emphasize that enough - this is one of the best suspense thrillers you're likely to see anytime soon. Though it was made in the 1990s, it recalls the glory days of the 1970s thrillers and is in fact directed by one of that genre's masters, John Frankenheimer. He has made some excellent films, including the Manchurian Candidate and The French Connection II (often overshadowed by the original but showcasing an even better performance by Gene Hackman).

You know Ronin will be good with this director at the helm. And check out the rest of the pedigree - Robert de Niro (Raging Bull, Godfather 2), Jean Reno (Leon - now this is also a great film but catch the European version if you can), Johnathan Pryce (Evita, Tomorrow Never Dies), and Sean Bean (superb as the tragic Boromir in Fellowship of the Ring). With this cast and crew alone, the film will already be superb. In a nutshell, the plot revolves around a planned heist to acquire a briefcase with some top secret...something or other inside. But wait - there's more! It's filled with clandestine meetings, shadowy locations, gun fights, betrayals, revenge, car chases, murder, etc.

All good spy suspense thrillers are filmed in Europe, and this is no exception. It takes advantage of many wonderful locales for its scenes. The gun fights are expertly photographed and edited for maximal excitement and are quite brutal and unforgiving. Yet the film always maintains an aura of realism about it - no Mission Impossible 2 gun ballets but just realistic and often painful and bloody gun fights. No one is invulnerable to bullets, which makes the film quite gruesome at times. Ironically, the most squeamish moment is not a gunfight but rather is an impromptu surgery when an injured character guides another character to help fish a bullet out of his body.

But wait, there's more! You know how everyone says Steve McQueen's Bullitt has the best movie car chase ever? Well, it's darn good, but the first car chase in Ronin comes VERY close to matching the intensity, raw power, merciless editing, and excitement of Bullitt's chase. Plus, the car chase starts and ends with a vicious gunfight. Darn good stuff. But WAIT - if you thought the first car chase was great, wait until you see the SECOND car chase, which gets my award for the BEST movie car chase of all time. Basically, Robert de Niro is chasing someone else in a car, and they drive through heavily congested streets and tunnels and sidewalks and even in ONCOMING traffic. The way it's filmed and edited makes the entire chase seem extremely realistic and DANGEROUS (unlike the bland Hollywood car chases you always see) and unsurpassed in its virtuosity. By the second half of this masterpiece of a car chase, if your jaw hasn't dropped in amazement, you're probably blind.

But WAIT - there's more! Katarina Witt, that's right, the Olympic champion, has nice role in this film as a Russian ice skating champ. There's one simple scene when she steps out of a car, and she looks SO darling and beautiful your heart will melt. But my favorite spot of the entire film comes in the middle of her skating program near the finale. It's short, only a couple of seconds long, but it's SO unexpected during this graceful beautiful performance that it leaves quite an impact; I won't reveal it but you'll know it when you see it.

I could go on, but you get the picture. FIVE STARS! ABSOLUTELY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable spy story and excellent action
Review: Ronin doesn't break any new ground, but it does its business very well. Robert De Niro plays a retired-spy-turned-mercenary with a fairly typical De Niro performance, but it's still enjoyable to watch him act, especially with a group of supporting players as dynamic as Jean Reno, Sean Bean, and the rest. The plot is kept rather obscure, but the plot itself isn't nearly so important as the machinations the characters go through. The writing clearly bears the stamp of David Mamet, but at least it's his quality side rather than his pretentious side. The action set-pieces are always competent and reach spectacular levels in the car-chase scenes. The DVD extras are just fine for a budget title, as director John Frankenheimer provides low-key commentary on the movie and on a deleted alternate ending of little consequence.