Rating: 
Summary: Ronin: a story of the post cold war samurai
Review: In the post cold war era, many government spooks became freelance or mercenary. Five of these people find themselves in the employ of an Irish woman, who is reluctant to identify her principle partner. The task is the retrieval of a case, the contents of which are unknown to the team hired for the job. At least, most of the team doesn't know what is in the case. The team quickly tests each other to see who each believes they can trust, and who can be counted on. All of their trusts and concerns are put to the test when their job doesn't go as planed. Ronin was the best action movie of 1998. It was suspenseful, had nice scenery, and most admirably, it commonly obeyed the laws of physics. For the most part, things only exploded when acted upon by explosives; People dropped like a bag of potatoes when killed by gunfire; With only one exception, cars impacted allot without any random or unexplained explosions. I appreciate realism. The acting was good, but it was expected of the lineup. Robert De Niro (Academy Award Winner for "Raging Bull" and "The Godfather Part II") plays an American who needs the money from the job in question. Jean Reno ("Leon" aka "The Professional", "La Femme Nikita", "Mission: Impossible") plays a Frenchman who knows who will keep him alive. Stellan Skarsgard ("Good Will Hunting", "Aberdeen") plays an ex KGB electronics specialist. Jonathan Pryce ("Brazil", Tomorrow Never Dies", "Something Wicked This Way Comes") plays an Irish nationalist who will do as much as any other person to take possession of the case. The best factor of this film is the tangled web created by so many parties with interest in the case, what they do to protect themselves, and what they do to obtain the case. The movie is very careful to supply the audience with all of the relevant information, and to withhold most of the irrelevant information. The character development was somewhat simple, but as complicated as it needed to be to support the complications in the story. It kept me on the edge of my seat when I saw it in the theaters, and it did a fair job when I recently viewed it on DVD. There were a few shortcomings in this movie. It did not always avoid the spy movie cliché. I felt that the car chase in Paris went on far too long, and was very unoriginal. 8.5 on a scale of 10. Daniel Sanford, -freelance reviewer
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent thinking person's action movie
Review: I loved this movie. We rented it from the Embassy and I immediately purchased it from Amazon. It did take a couple of viewings to understand all what was going on though. You really can't turn your brain off on this one. I think that accounts for some of the negative reviews below. The acting was exceptional. You expect it from De Niro and Reno but the lesser parts were very well done indeed. The car chase scenes were probably the best done so far and the shooting scenes were very, very realistic. We couldn't get over how many innocent bystanders were shot in this movie. This is not a "good" measure of success or anything but is one of realism considering all the shooting going on. If you like to ponder the twists and turns of a plot (think Mission Impossible One) and enjoy "dark" movies then this is for you. I really, really enjoyed the message of friendship and what that means that developed between De Niro nad Reno. It seemed very real. I hope that there will be some kind of sequel or another movie with these two dymanic stars. Reno was more understated that De Niro, who clearly ran the operation once things got moving. By the way, De Noro's motive for continuing after the case is obvious. He still works for the Company! Reno continued because De Niro saved his life and they become comrades in arms. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: what's in the case?
Review: What a fantastic movie. It's good to see a film where you actually have to think about what's going on. And what about those car chases? I have to say they are probably the best one's I've ever seen. Overall, Great actors, great plot, great movie!
Rating:
Summary: Great plot, great car chases, great ending.
Review: This film is a must-have for your collection if you're an action fan. With enough gadgets, cars, and guns to even make James Bond jealous, you definately won't be disappointed watching this one. This movie doesn't have a one track mind. It deftly mixes action, suspense, and even a little romance and humor. The plot isn't so confusing that you're completely left out, but it also isn't so simple that you know how it turns out from the start. You must pay attention to the end of this movie. The whole reason for De Niro's character being part of the group attempting to recover "the case" is revealed in a small snippet of dialogue that, if you miss, will leave you clueless to the whole point of the film. All in all, this is an intelligent, fast paced film with all the right stuff. You will not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: One cool car chase isn't enough to save this...
Review: Everything I heard about Ronin was "cool car chases," but there was only one great car scene... it was very well done - much better than any I had seen before - but it wasn't enough to keep this movie afloat. Ten or 15 minutes into i was like, "hold on, there is a plot and I missed the whole thing? " This flick goes from having no apparent plot to assuming that you already know whats going on, but without telling you what is going on. Its one of those movies where you have to figure it out by 'tough love.' This is one of those movies where everyone turns on everyone else, so it goes without saying the plot gets complicated and convoluted and more or less altogether lost. After Reno and DeNiro's boss turns on them (thus leaving them obviously unemployed) why do they keep going after the case? What attachment do they have to it? This doesn't seem very logical considering they are hired mercanaries - when they don't need to complete the job, you would think that they would not stay on it without reason or pay. There is also a tiny attempt at a love story here but it is ultimately left stillborn and doesn't contribute anything. Deserving of 2.5 stars, but not a full 3; one great car chase... okay movie.
Rating:
Summary: zzzzzzz
Review: Oh man, this is a terrible movie. So its not like your usual Hollywood formula lets blow stuff up and put beer in the dog's water bowl shoot 10 million people every single day action flick. Its still lame. I mean, um, well its a boring movie. Really. Great cast, bad script. The car chases, while half-way realistic are pretty dang boring. I can't find any other words to describe this film but boring. Its basicly Mission Impossible trying to be Mad Max. If you want a really beyond Hollywood action flick check out Fallen Angels. Good DVD, packed with good stuff, if your a fan of this film pick it up. If not, why are you here?
Rating:
Summary: RONIN
Review: I thought this an excellent movie. It isn't like most action movies where the action is fake and just unrealistic. This is a story I can actually believe, the violence is real, the acting isn't overdone but real. The chases were awesome. I really enjoyed this movie and recomend it to anyone sick of the fake overacted movies now a days.
Rating: 
Summary: DISAPPOINTING, JUST AN OVERDONE CAR CHASE MOVIE! ! ! !
Review: This movie had a topnotch cast, talent with the ability to make anything worthwhile, however this movie WAS NOT up to their usual standards as the overdone action scenes and confused plot made this potentially good movie a real suckfest! Why did I hate this movie, well thats easy, first off, one of my absolute fave actors, the extremely talented Jean Reno was cast as a 'bumboy' to Robert DeNiro (RDN), I mean he was suppose to be RDN French equivalent, but what we got was a tragic waste of Jean Renos talent, bascially he was a man who looked as confused as the storyline! The action scenes were terribly overdone, I have read other reviews saying the car chases were the most exciting part in the entire film, which I wholeheartedly disaggree with! OVERKILL, COMPLETE AND UTTER OVERKILL, made it more boring than anything else! It felt as though the director or writer new what a waste of time they had created, that they decided to give the audience something to disguise the mess they made in the first place, however the Action scenes only highlighted what was so wrong about this movie! Their were some clever ideas dotted throughout Ronin, that seemed to go somewhere but got lost as soon as the guns started firing, so instead of 'Masterless Samurai's' we got hired guns running or driving around a maze of streets and buildings shooting at each other to get a rather simple prize, a few twists and double dealings are mixed in as well to enlighten or confuse, take your pick! No amount of Bandaid (a small adhesive dressing) will ever make Ronin worthy of the actors who were unfortunately associated with it. AVOID THIS MOVIE AT ALL COST, if you want an exciting car chase scene then watch French Connection or The Blues Brothers! far more interesting and thrilling than this!
Rating:
Summary: Visually pleasing
Review: I loved the way there was no slow motion during the chase scenes. A common problem with most hollywood car chases is that the action, for some weird reason, is slowed down. In my opinion this takes away from the feeling of speed. Ronin dos a great job in that it shows the action as it would appear to those involved. And for once, a vegetable or fruit stand isn't dumped over on the sidewalk. I found the twistey plot a little tough to follow in the first hour, but it all comes together nicely in the end. It's a very good ending too i might add. Great acting across the board. I thought Deniro and Reno were very good together. Interesting relationship. I hope these two get together again real soon.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet car chases
Review: I love any movie with car chases, and this has some of the best. Although adding heavy firearms and bazookas helps. The story wasn't anything special, just lots of action, which totally made the movie worth while.
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