Review of Ronin (1998) by Harry G — 11 Apr 2013

Satisfying action thriller starring Robert De Niro as Sam, a freelance criminal hired to lead a team of mercenaries in Paris. Tasked with retrieving a mysterious metal case for a shady Irish consortium, their plans are torn apart as interference from 'The Russians' and infighting amongst their number leave a trail of carnage across France.

Sam is left questioning who he can trust as the deceptions spiral out of control.A solid piece of genre filmmaking that includes all the shoot-outs, back-stabbing and drama you could hope for, with added star quality from De Niro and a support cast including Jean Reno, Sean Bean and Natascha McElhone.

The French setting also helps lift it above others. It's always fun to see a Hollywood blockbuster run riot through a European city, especially as 'Ronin' generally avoids all the cliched tourist spots and postcard imagery, instead focusing on the back-alleys and cafes, lending slightly more authenticity - not exactly gritty, but shunning the mainstream polish.

De Niro turns in a solid performance as the efficient, methodical mercenary - a role that doesn't require him to do much but he doesn't overplay it in what is essentially an action movie. His intermittent français is also pretty good.

..Several excellent car chases, well-handled and with a palpable sense of speed and danger, are the film's real selling point. Peugeots and BMWs scatter pedestrians down tiny alleyways and streets, leaving cop cars spinning on their roofs with buckled bodywork.

It has clearly borrowed much from 'The French Connection', but so has every action movie that preceded it. Roaring engines and the pounding soundtrack make every frame of the chases thrilling, and the use of everyday European cars and small packed roads give an added realism and feeling of danger that is lost in the usual vast American cities and highways.

There is a real feeling of the 1970's cop thriller, with lots of decent quips, untrustworthy characters and men that get on with the business at hand - also including the kind of implausible scenarios and odd shifts in tone that Harry Callahan could conceivably find himself involved in.

Occasionally dragging and hitting a few bum notes, it's by no means flawless - seldom does a genre film require a 2 hour running time, as is the case here. With plenty of exhilarating set pieces and solidly presented exposition, it just needs a bit of a kick up the derrière from time to time.