Ronin

Rating:
Summary: it's really a great stuff
Review: i relly like the place where they filmed this n trust me....it's extremely great!!!

Rating:
Summary: They don't (or won't) make movies like this anymore...
Review: Watching "Ronin," one becomes nostalgic for the days when directors used to take some actors and a crew and go someplace and MAKE A MOVIE. More and more these days, actors do their part on a green stage and everything else is done in post-production. Frankenheimer goes out and makes the movie. Anyone who has the DVD should take the time to listen to the full-length director's commentary. Some director's commentaries are drawn-out philosophical statements. Frankenheimer stays on the subject. He talks about how things were done and why choices were made in how scenes unfold and how the plot progresses.     If you're the acknowledged best-director-of-car-chases-ever, it's hard not to repeat yourself. However, in the narrow streets of Nice and in the tunnels of Paris, Frankenheimer brings a new level of intensity to the genre. For those who find the pacing uneven, I'd point this out: cartoons have non-stop action; movies are SUPPOSED to have character and plot-line development. If it's a two-hour cartoon you want, go see "Phantom Menace" again.

Rating:
Summary: meh
Review: this was kind of dissapointing, but i had pretty high expectations. it didn't really do anything wrong, but dispite a lot of action, it wasn't the most interesting movie.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Movie Is The Name Of The Game
Review: That "Ronin" has a vague ending and entirely obfuscates (i) character motivation and (ii) what's inside the case is probably one of its strong suits. The original draft of the script written by J.D. Zeik is formulaic and chock-full of hackneyed action sequences that really took away from the story. The subsequent rewrite(s) by David Mamet paints an altogether different film, one sparse with violence that is both realistic and smart at the same time. To say that "Ronin" isn't like other action films is a good thing, since being derivative is far from a compliment in most books. The car-chase scenes, of course, stand out and are very good, but I prefer the smaller moments in the film, the ones that build the friendship between Jean Reno's character and Robert Deniro's (although I felt this could've been explored more). If you don't own this film or haven't seen it, well... You're missing out and should be rounded up and put into a special internment camp, where you will be kept until you watch this film and like it... You anti-"Ronin" people disgust me.

Rating:
Summary: Best Car Chase Scenes Ever!
Review: This is an excellent, wonderfully observed, crafted, and realized espionage tale from someone who has learned the business of action movie-making (director John Frankenheimer). It features Mr. Deniro (before he got into comedy) as an American in on a deal to rescue a case for Natascha McElhone, a great and unusual beauty doing a convincing North Irish accent. His partners are internationals, a Swede, a Brit, and a Frenchman (the admirable Jean Reno, who looks like he smells like a wet cigarette). Much danger and excitment quickly follow. It's all the better for it's constant affirmation of its gritty, intelligent, and suddenly violent reality. And even if you don't like car chases, well, you might after you listen to the director's commentary. You'll know as much about cars as the guys on the radio. I first saw this movie in the theater and loved it. It's the work of a very experienced man (Frankenheimer), who feels that understatement, restraint, and timing are the most powerful parts of storytelling. The story is a spy game, post cold-war, so no Bad Russians..oh wait, there are some bad russians. But it's clear that Frankenheimer cares less about the politics and more about the players. In the commentary Frankenheimer talks about not only the function and performance of the actors, but he gives us an inspiring lesson on his technical craft. A magician willing to give away his secrets, a real find.


Rating:
Summary: Chase to die for!
Review: I was aware of Deniro's body of work but this was the first time I was introduced to Frankenheimer's work.. Such a shame he passed away a few years back.. I was truly impressed with the realism of the car chases. The unmistakable sound of the in-line 6 M49 engine on the E34 BMW//M5 ridden by D.Pierce is well known to M cognoscenti. The sound of the engine in the tunnel were dead on..

I might be a bit biased here because I have an E39//M5 and I am a car person so I am more inclined to give the movie a 5 star rating just for the car chases (Audi S8 and //M5 chases)
I thought Jean Reno was also good in the movie, especially in the scenes with Deniro.. So is the movie worth seeing? The question is a no brainer for a car person specifically those aware of the //M5. Others I am not so sure..


Rating:
Summary: A classic in the art of great movie making
Review: Ronin is a phenomenal movie. It is a hidden gem. If you haven't seen it, you have missed one of the best-made movies of the last 20 years. It is an action movie with emotional power. Prepare to immerse yourself in a film of subtlety, as well as heart-pounding, beautifully-filmed action.

Courage, love, honesty, and loyalty in the midst of betrayal are all themes that the movie artfully explores and develops.

Alert viewers will note how the theme of "waiting" is woven through the plot.

The development of the relationships between the characters is wonderful to watch.

The conversation between Sam and the Ronin model-maker is especially delightful, as they speak a "language" they both understand, but you don't.

Great, great movie. Don't miss it.

Rating:
Summary: Great car chases
Review: I was given this film, purely because it's impossible to resell, and the person who gave me it got it on special edition. So this is now taking pride & place in my DVD collection. I've apparently seen this movie before, but didn't review it at the time, but rewatching it, I don't remember a thing about it. I remember the second car chase, where they go through the Paris tunnel, where Diana & Dodi Fayed died, and although this car chase was just as spectacular, the first, more simplistic one was great too. And I don't remember that! But I'll review it now. Just to make sure.

The car chases are pure spectacular in this. There's no CGI, unlike Matrix Reloaded, or no major jumps over 50ft gaps, like Speed. Just simple speeding, and crashing into other cars. I'll never understand how car chases like this how managed! Stunt drivers are used, but it must take a hell of a lot of work to get it right. To make it look like Robert De Niro and Natasha McElhone were actually driving during the car chase, right hand drive cars were used, with the passenger side made up to mirror the real controls. The actors then mimicked the stunt drivers movements.

My favourite character in this was Natasha McElhone (Deirdre) - try saying that when you've had a few! The last name is a real tongue twister, and it took me most of the duration of the movie to get my tongue around it. She's great looking, and has gorgeous clear skin, and gorgeous hair. I felt there was a real chemistry between her & Robert De Niro's character, even though he's loads older, and lets face it, not exactly Mr Hunk of the century!

Robert De Niro I think, looking back on the movie is perfect for this role of Sam he played. He's quiet, resourceful and deliberate, and plays the part perfectly. He's not a typical in-your-face hardman hitman. Him & Jean Reno make a great team together.

I found in this movie a lot gets pushed aside to keep the action flowing throughout, and not have any dull moments. I found this particularly with the would-be romance between Sam & Deirdre, that could have been brought forward, just slightly more, instead of one big kiss and that's it. Nothing more.

The scenery is fantastic in this movie, based all (or nearly all) in France, around Nice & Paris, but with not many great landmarks, so you can come into the middle of the film, and not where the hell it's based. There's not constant shots of the Eiffel Tower, or other French landmarks.

You never find out what's in the case during this, which in some ways, can be bad, and can be good. For instance, you can use your imagination as to what's in the case, and not feel stupid for thinking that it's this, that or the next thing.

I loved the fact that Natasha and Jonathan Pryce spoke with Irish accents in this. Previous reviewers have said they found this irritating, and although Jonathan didn't speak that much, they were great voices to listen to. Lovely.

I found the finale of the movie to be a major disappointment. The last half hour absolutely dragged, and the finale just didn't work out the way I would have liked. But I'm a romantic at heart, and although I draw the line at Sam & Deirdre running across a meadow with a blue sky, all alone in the world, and into each others arms, I would have liked a happy ending. And then I watched the alternative ending featured on the DVD (no TRAILER?! Sacriledge!), and was even more disappointed. I ended up wishing I'd not bothered watching the alternative ending, cos it was even more disappointing than the original in the movie! I want a happy ending please.

This is a good movie if you want a fast action film with lots of twists & turns, and stunning car chase sequences, which will take your breath away. For me, the finale lowered my rating. Boo. But it's very watchable. Get it. Or get the special edition.

Rating:
Summary: One of the great spy flicks
Review: This movie rightfully goes into the roster of classic spy flicks, like NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE FRENCH CONNECTION, DAY OF THE JACKAL, and THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE.

Written by David Mamet (see the 2004 Val Kilmer movie SPARTAN, which Mamet wrote and directed), this is a very understated spy thriller that has great car chases, confused motivations, and cool explosions. It doesn't get any better than that. What really pulls it off, however, is a script that elegantly reflects a sort of post-COLD WAR vacuum in the intelligence world, a situation that the movie has as parallel to the collapsing feudal order in medieval Japan, when wandering ronin samurai moved fluidly in a disintegrating social order (see Kurosawa's YOJIMBO).

There are two car chases in this film that are unbelievable. The direction is just fantastic. The character development--particularly of the protaganist "Sam" and Reno's "Vincent"--is also superb. The reality of the events is shown in the vulnerability DeNiro's character exhibits. Sort of an anti-Rambo.

Even the music is subtle and well done, enhancing the murkiness of the plot. A really elegant film; very well-edited. I rarely give five star reviews for movies, but this is easily one of my favorite movies that I return to again and again.

Rating:
Summary: A classic spy-thriller and one done the right way
Review: This 1998 spy-thriller from the late John Frankenheimer more than makes up for the current crop of spy-thrillers to come out of Hollywood: The Sum of All Fears, The Bourne Identity and The Recruit to name a few. The plot is straighforward enough for even the most slow audience to follow. Out of work former covert operatives hire themselves out to the highest bidder to acquire an item other parties are intent on acquiring themselves. The title comes from the Japanese word describing masterless samurai who have become lost and hire themselves out as brigands, mercenaries, etc...

Robert DeNiro's work as the lead is exemplary and shows why he's considered one of the best actors of the last 30 years. His portrayal of his character is understated when compared to his more notable roles. The other stand out in Ronin is French-actor Jean Reno. The professional relationship between DeNiro's and Reno's characters help pull together the rest of the cast and the rest did a very good job with the parts they were given. Even Sean Bean's small time onscreen is time well spent.

The other thing that I must point out as a plus about this film is Frankenheimer's work on shooting the film's many car chase sequence. Instead of relying on lots of explosions, FX-work and over-the-top stunt work, Frankenheimer's car chase scenes has the look of realism that is rare in many action-films these days. If one wants to see a spy-thriller and a car chase scene done right, one can't go wrong by watching this film.