Ronin

Ronin (1998)

Runtime: 122 minutes

Directed by: John Frankenheimer

Starring: Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgard, Jonathan Pryce

From: United Artists

While watching horror or otherwise creepy motion pictures (the majority of the time) the past two months has been fun—yet it does feel nice to have a return to normalcy & view all sorts of films. This was recorded last month on DVR & was in fact something I tried recording earlier in the month from the same channel but the recording stopped after the first minute. Thank goodness there was no issue this time-like I said at the time, I realize everyone has had at least one DVR hiccup in the past.

It is a John Frankenheimer joint which almost feels like something from Michael Mann-to steal a thought from elsewhere-which is a Euro crime sort of picture where various mercenaries or ex agents of a government are recruited by a mysterious figure to “acquire” a metal briefcase-a true MacGuffin in that what is in it is just like the contents of the briefcase in Pulp Fiction—meaning “never explained.” Of course, things go wrong and with all those shady characters, not everyone can be trusted.

Ronin is not a movie I am as over the moon for as some. Yet I am not complaining-nor do I think anyone else should-that I still thought this was pretty good. After all, what an incredible main cast this has (whether or not I know all the faces), a score that at times does bring in motifs that “sound Japanese” which is appropriate for a flick entitled “Ronin”, a script that David Mamet worked on, nice French settings & great car chases. Plus, it was a complex story which never became convoluted to the point of frustration. In addition, Michael Lonsdale here was certainly better than in Moonraker, although I don't blame him for that Bond film not being one of the better ones.

I've seen others bemoan the lack of Ronin sequels-if not that, I'd like to see more stylish Euro crime thrillers like this which are more about the drama than action, although the action is crackin'. Without a doubt, there should have been more movies starring De Niro & Reno (no matter their genre) as they were a hell of a duo here. While it was stated a few months ago and did not come to fruition, this time I will view more Frankenheimer later in November.