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Ronin (1998)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
6/17
6/17:
Mostly shot on location all over France, Ronin was a film that I saw back then when it was first released but
didn't leave me impressed.
Today, it looks better. Robert De Niro's acting is terrific, and he's the chief reason why the movie has aged well. I like his
relationship with Jean Reno.
Remarkably done is the cinematography which was handled by Robert Fraisse. He was chosen by John Frankenheimer because
of his work on Citizen X, a docu-realistic film about a notorious Russian serial killer.
Moreover, I like how intricate the plot is; maybe that's the reason why I didn't like Ronin in the first place for
going over my head. Now, it's more easily followed.
Yet I have a difficult time swallowing the concept that these guys, good and bad alike, can constantly get away with
shooting at each other and waving their guns around in public. The only plausible reason is that Interpol let them go for the
sake of international security.
The best part, apart from Robert De Niro's and John Frankenheimer's attachment to the project, is
the Grand Prix-stylized car chase that seemingly takes forever. It must have been a highly complicated
task for everybody involved which included over 300 stunt drivers, John Frankenheimer being among them. A total of eighty automobiles
were destroyed. At one point, the speedometer could be seen reading 0 MPH. So did the fuel gauge. Another is the sight of a
cameraman inside the tunnel. Naturally, the filmmakers couldn't keep up with all the details that went on during the
complicated pièce de résistance.
Naturally, save for Skipp Sudduth, many thespians didn't do the driving themselves. According to IMDb:
"To make it look like Robert De Niro and Natascha 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."
Because of the title, I hate it when the film has to associate itself with the samurai crap. Why did John Frankenheimer
have to stoop so low with this fanboy bullshit? It's something that Quentin Tarantino would've done.
If there's anything else I like, it's Sam sniffing out Sean Bean's character to reveal that he's an amateur. It's funny because while
Spence was doing all of this, I was forced to accept what's happening. But he seemed to be abnormal for somebody who's
supposed to be acting like he had been there before. Yet the façade came tearing down which made Spence look all silly.
Unfortunately, the rest of Ronin is standard with too many chases which should've been cut down, but the acting is
what kept it together, holding my interest from start to finish. That's why John Frankenheimer has always been a master
director. By the way, the figure skater is an actual Olympic and world champion from Germany, and her name
is Katarina Witt. Also, David Mamet, under the nom de plume of Richard Weisz, wrote most of the screenplay.
All in all, Ronin smacks of old-school filmmaking, which is of the enjoyable kind, but sadly, it has become a lost art.