Ronin DVD > Reviews > Loyalty Is Bought, Betrayal Is A Way Of Life...

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Outstanding
Soundtrack	Outstanding

Advantages:	Great acting, direction and story
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

One of the best things I found about having Sky TV when I was at home was being able to discover films I normally wouldn't have heard of when I was younger. I've been a pretty big fan of Robert De Niro and his movies for as long as I can remember and around 2000 I came across a movie on Sky that I ended up really enjoying. That movie was Ronin and since that fateful night watching the movie channels it has become one of my favourite films. It does seem to be a film people discovered more by accident than anything else but I've always thought it was a great film.

When a freelancing former US government agent (De Niro) is hired to take part in a job to track down and take a mysterious package it all seems quite easy. The package is wanted by both the Russian's and the Irish and having less money to offer than the Russians the Irish hire a team of Ronin to try and steal the package. The Ronin is a term used for ancient Japanese Samurai Warriors without masters and the group the Irish hire are quite similar to these ancient Warriors. Of course things are never straight forward in this tale of treachery, betrayal and deceit.

This is a very fast paced action movie and one of the few I really feel is crying out for a sequel, but will probably never get one. The story keeps the viewer compelled and holds your attention throughout. In fact I can and have watched the film countless times in the past and it still grips me every time. This isn't your average run of the mill Hollywood film and occasionally really grips you within the plot as it's not just the sort of film that doesn't need much concentration.

It seems to have been one of the last outings for director John Frankenheimer who has made only a couple of other films since its release in 1998. The action scenes look fantastic and Frankenheimer takes the story to some of the seedier, darker areas of Paris. The lighting and camera angles really add another dimension to the quality of the movie. In particular the car chases through the streets of Paris and Nice look fantastic and are shot in a very unique and interesting way.

I felt the plot really had all the elements you would want from this type of film, which is no mean feet as it was writer J.D. Zeik's first screenplay. It adapts onto the screen incredibly well and Frankenheimer has probably made a better job of it than Zeik perhaps thought possible. It is quite a clever story that works on a couple of different levels and I think that's what really captures your attention as you watch it. I've found that you can switch off watching it and still enjoy it but it seems more complete when you are thinking about what's happening. But in that respect it really works well at appealing to a much wider target audience.

As with most films staring De Niro his performance is fantastic. I've always liked him as an actor but this film really grabbed my attention and showed that although he does play a few similar characters he is the thinking mans action hero. He strikes up a really good onscreen relationship with Jean Reno that really helps to advance the storyline. Reno's performance is equally as good and this was really he movie that brought him to my attention. The way Zeik has gradually introduced details of the characters back stories also made them seem more interesting and with two actors as good as these two in the lead roles there is no way it could fail.

Amongst the other performances I thought that during his brief time in the film Sean Bean was very good as Spence. The other real stand out performance for me though was Stellan Skarsgard, who played a former Russian secret agent. Again it was another fantastic performance that really brought his character to life, whilst keeping the character and the plot incredibly gripping. In fact I find it very hard to find a poor performance and it's for that reason this is one of my favourite movies.

Overall this is a fantastic film that I have watched and enjoyed countless times. I don't remember really seeing much press coverage or any real hype for it at all, but having found it by accident almost I'm quite glad I did. It will work for those nights you fancy something a little less taxing but it also works if you'd like a film to think about. The direction is fantastic, the acting accomplished and the story is gripping, all that's left to say about it, if you haven't already get a hold of a copy of it and watch it.

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