Ronin

A great movie that you can't just watch with one eye. It starts slow, laying a strong foundation, and if it's on TV, it's easy to get lost by not paying attention at the beginning. However, it's an outstanding film, exploring the characters with a huge action movie in the background.

It's visually interesting and doesn't ever let you know the things you think you need to know, but by the end you've forgotten that you wanted to know them in the first place. Robert DeNiro gives a strong performance and doesn't get lost in some of the showiness he can deliver when he's making up for a weaker story, and the supporting cast is full of familiar faces, many of which blend so well into the characters they play that, again, you can become lost in the story (although this time, it a good way).

For its genre, Ronin is a good film. I don't think it's quite fair to criticize it for what it is not, such as saying that it's a poor film because there are movies out there with better car chases.

I saw it at the theatre and thought it was OK, saw it on video expecting to be more disappointed, and actually liked it better the second time.

I don't think the plot is as difficult to understand as some might claim. I had no trouble following it. Whether or not it's credible, well, how many action films are? It's credible enough for me to watch it and not say is this ever stupid. That's about all that I look for in an action film, sorry to say.

I actually enjoyed the dialogue for the most part. DeNiro and Reno in particular were solid. The film did begin to fade towards the end, especially once everyone was in the skating arena. I appreciated Frankenheimer showing as much of France as he did. That was a bonus.

So, yes, I could point to a number of flaws in Ronin. But, perhaps because of my low esteem for action films overall, I would say it's a worthwhile watch if you're an action fan, or a DeNiro fan, as I am.

One of the best action films of the late '90s. A group of mercenaries deals with a job that from the beginning was expected to be difficult. An outstanding cast, with great interpretations by De Niro and Jean Reno. The narrative has the usual plot holes of a spy/conspiracy film, but apart from that, it is a lesson in how to make a good film within the genre, with well-crafted twists and intense and credible dialogues. 'Ronin' continues to have, in my opinion, one of the best car chase scenes ever. If you like the '70s and '80s classics, you will like this one as well.

I picked up this DVD in Asda's a few weeks ago and seeing it had Robert De Niro starring convinced me enough to buy it. Then seeing in the credits it starred Jean Reno, Sean Bean and Jonothan Pryce too made me realise I was watching a winner here.

I wasn't wrong either, this film is brilliant. The beginning is slow and tense; dark, clear colours in the picture sets the mood perfectly. From then on most of it is pretty much action.

Five mysterious men of various backgrounds (ex-CIA, KGB etc) meet in Paris, France for a job headed by a Northern Irish woman. The job is to steal a case from a group and return the case to their as yet unknown employers. Just as things seem to run smoothly, one of them is a double-crosser.

Now for some of the best bits, the car chases. These are shot magnificently as Peugeot's, BMW's and Audi's tear through the streets of Paris. These chases are the most thrilling chases I have ever seen. And when you get chases, you get crashes. Think on-coming traffic chases and you might get the picture.

This is a must see film. 8 out of 10.

Ronin is a beautiful looking movie that utilizes its gritty depiction of Paris and Nice to its advantage. Watching this picture 26 years after it originally released, it paints a thoroughly nostalgic and unconventionally idyllic view of France. Laden with big leather jackets and a plethora of iconic European cars from the 90's, it is oozing with atmosphere and easily immerses you into its setting. That is by far this movie's biggest strength, along with its extremely entertaining (albeit sometimes clunky) car chase scenes.

The plot is... less great. It tells a very vague and mostly nonsensical heist story, where a group of international criminals meet up for the first time to do a job together, in a similar vein to Reservoir Dogs. The glaring difference between the two movies is that the person who's in charge of setting up the job in Ronin seems to have very little control over their hired criminals, who easily bully their handler into being given more information and money, as well as them being generally terrible at working in a group!

While the overall premise is little more than flimsy, the moment-to-moment banter between the group is decent, and the action scenes are well executed. The acting is also great in general, despite somewhat poor writing in a couple of scenes. It's a movie carried quite effortlessly by its aesthetics, to a point where you can ignore most of the plot's faults because of how easily you get immersed into the world the movie's created for itself. Ronin drags a bit towards the end, with a third segment that was not as entertaining as the rest of the movie, but it is overall a great, laidback watch.