Ronin (1998)
Country: US
Technical: DeLuxe/Super 35 121m
Director: John Frankenheimer
Cast: Robert de Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, Michel Lonsdale, Jonathan Pryce
Synopsis:
Mercenaries in France are hired by rogue IRA terrorists to steal a mysterious metal briefcase, but one of them is a traitor working for the Russians and their employers double cross them.
Review:
Portentously drawing inspiration from those Samurai in feudal Japan who have failed to preserve their overlord and are fated to roam like rudderless vessels, this old-fashioned piece of hokum (cf. The Marseilles Contract, Cold Sweat) came across at the time as a cut-price Mission Impossible. There are a couple of exciting car chases, which only add to the sense of deja vu, and a general insouciance about collateral casualties which might be intended as ruthless but seems merely shallow. Characterisation and backstory are minimal and certainly insufficient to sustain this length, or a more considered reading.
Country: US
Technical: DeLuxe/Super 35 121m
Director: John Frankenheimer
Cast: Robert de Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, Michel Lonsdale, Jonathan Pryce
Synopsis:
Mercenaries in France are hired by rogue IRA terrorists to steal a mysterious metal briefcase, but one of them is a traitor working for the Russians and their employers double cross them.
Review:
Portentously drawing inspiration from those Samurai in feudal Japan who have failed to preserve their overlord and are fated to roam like rudderless vessels, this old-fashioned piece of hokum (cf. The Marseilles Contract, Cold Sweat) came across at the time as a cut-price Mission Impossible. There are a couple of exciting car chases, which only add to the sense of deja vu, and a general insouciance about collateral casualties which might be intended as ruthless but seems merely shallow. Characterisation and backstory are minimal and certainly insufficient to sustain this length, or a more considered reading.
Country: US
Technical: DeLuxe/Super 35 121m
Director: John Frankenheimer
Cast: Robert de Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, Michel Lonsdale, Jonathan Pryce
Synopsis:
Mercenaries in France are hired by rogue IRA terrorists to steal a mysterious metal briefcase, but one of them is a traitor working for the Russians and their employers double cross them.
Review:
Portentously drawing inspiration from those Samurai in feudal Japan who have failed to preserve their overlord and are fated to roam like rudderless vessels, this old-fashioned piece of hokum (cf. The Marseilles Contract, Cold Sweat) came across at the time as a cut-price Mission Impossible. There are a couple of exciting car chases, which only add to the sense of deja vu, and a general insouciance about collateral casualties which might be intended as ruthless but seems merely shallow. Characterisation and backstory are minimal and certainly insufficient to sustain this length, or a more considered reading.