Review of Ronin (1998) by David R — 10 Nov 2017

This combination gangster/espionage/heist-caper film, very tautly directed by John Frankenheimer (best known for The Manchurian Candidate, Seven Days in May, and French Connection II,) and co-scripted by David Mamet (under a pseudonym because of contract disputes,) features Robert De Niro as a freelance commando with a mysterious background who is part of a team hired by Irish terrorists to hijack a container of something very valuable being delivered to a Russian mafia outfit.

The possibilities arising from this array for violence and betrayal are fully exploited in the quite convoluted but essentially clear plot. The film features some great photography of Paris and southern France, and a series of cinematic set pieces, including not one but two car chases which are so good that they are exciting even if you've gotten tired of movie car chases, an extended urban shoot out, ditto, and some beautiful figure skating, something you don't expect to see in an action movie.

Notable among the cast is Sean Bean in an atypical non-heroic role. Definitely an above average action film which anyone who likes that genre will want to see. Advisories: lots of violence though not excessively gory by current standards, some language.