RONIN (1998)

a review by Evan Landon

Robert De Niro. Isn't that enough?!

Rewind back to 1998, please. A young man (who lovingly loves the cinema so much that his first job was at a movie theater in the mall) wanders into a film starring very well-known actors, not knowing shit about said movie, then walks out with a huge smile on his face because of the amazing acting, filmography, & insane car chase scenes that he had never seen before, or thought could be made, thusly changing the way he thought of how action crime drama films could be made again. *spoiler alert – that kid was me ;)

To put the movie “Ronin” into words is a little difficult because I simply just grew up on this one. With no hyperbole, I can say that it is very easily one of the only movies I have seen dozens of times over the course of my life that I can put on or catch on MGM & still sit there dumbfounded at how astoundingly awesome it is. I had no idea what the word “ronin” meant before seeing this movie, so when I did find out, I was even more enamored with it even though it took me a long time to guess how it had anything to do with the plot. Maybe that is apart of its appeal to me though; so much of this movie is less told through exposition to be spelled out for you to where you are able to coalesce the events in the movie, understanding it on the idiom that something simple is just as complicated. The entire plot is based around a MacGuffin, for fucks sake! If you don't know what that means, you should prob look that one up because you might be on the wrong page...

Now BEFORE I get too much into the groundbreaking car chases that this film is known for, I will speak a bit on the cast in this overlooked gem:

~ Robert de Niro stars as “Sam”, an ex-CIA agent looking for a next paycheck to which we see as our main protagonist in this story, even though we know absolutely nothing about him aside from the fact that he is highly skilled, experienced, & very charismatic.

~ Jean Reno revises his typecast role as a French assassin named “Vincent” & serves as the closest thing to a trusted companion one can have in a group of unknown mercenaries.

~ Jonathan Pryce is magnificent in what little screen time he has as a disgraced IRA splinter cell operative “Seamus” (aside from the terrible accent) who tasks...

~ Natasha McElhone, an enigmatic Irish handler “Diedre” who hires this motley crew of outcast specialists. I really enjoyed her in this; it's a shame we don't see much more of her these days.

~ Stellan Skarsgard portrays a German computer specialist, “Gregor” whose ties go back to the KGB. This was my first experience of this amazing actor to which he has yet to let me down.

~ Sean Bean plays an English weapons specialist named “Spence” in one of the funniest roles I have ever seen him play. He actually lives in this one, but he might as well have died anyways because he isn't in the film very long.

~ Skipp Sudeth rounds out the cast as “Larry”, the team's designated driver. Not the most prolific actor, especially in this ensemble, but does most of his own driving in the film.

Speaking to the driving, this movie is most well known for the car chase scenes that director John Frankenheimer wanted to recreate from movies such as The French Connection by William Friedkin & Bullitt by Peter Yates. What is interesting about that is Frankenheimer directed The French Connection II the follow up to the very movie that inspired the car chase for this film.

The screenplay was written by newcomer John David Zeik, who got the idea after reading the novel Shogun and spending time in Nice, France, & playwright David Mamet, who went uncredited after his bad experience with the film Wag The Dog. Cinematographer Robert Fraisse made great use of wide angle lenses in both the interior shots to show the claustrophobic, boxed-in aspect of the group & the exterior to show the overall carnage that is felt throughout the city as it is destroyed in the ensuing chaos.

I guess what really makes this movie works is how flawlessly it is woven together through the storytelling involving little to no exposition; the characters are so rich & layered, yet nothing is known about their back stories aside from a few obscure lines. Like I always say, “never let the plot get in the way of a good story”. My only gripe is that it is left with loose ends which I would be remised to say it reeks of lackadaisical storytelling, but to me it works just fine, in this instance.

Despite its mostly positive reviews, Ronin only cleaned up $70.7 million worldwide against a $55 million budget making it moderately successful. It has since gained a larger audience over streaming & home video media giving it a greater status as a cult classic.

4.5 out of 5