MOVIE REVIEW: Ronin (1998)

Ronin is a fairly obscure action flick from the 90s that is known for some punchy gunfights and car chases. I first became familiar with it when I saw an ad, way-back-when, of Robert De Niro taking a bazooka to a sedan on a country highway. If that wasn't awesome at eleven years old, then I don't know what was. The 'R' rating pretty much prevented me from seeing it, until thirteen years later. Yet, after being whetted on a diet of stronger action films of recent vintage, I was surprised that Ronin was actually more of a case of "looks-can-be-deceiving", and at the time, clever marketing campaign.

In France, an ex-IRA agent assembles a team of wayward spies and special agents from America and Europe to retreive an attractive metal briefcase from a group of shady Russians. The title Ronin comes from the Japanese word for a samurai who were orphaned by their master and mainly worked for money. This concept runs cleverly underneath the characterizations, and there's even some trademark deadpan humor to spare from co-screenwriter David Mamet (he apparently used a pseudonym in the credits, whatever).

In spite of the plentiful action that occurs in Ronin, I was surprised to notice while watching it that there's really not that much action that would traditionally qualify it for the genre, like say, Die Hard or Lethal Weapon. In fact, this comes off more as a heist/spy/thriller that has a few nice action pieces. The car chases are pretty good, but don't exactly hold a candle to James Bond. The cast is pretty good; De Niro and one of my favorite Francophone actors, Jean Reno, get a decent amount of screentime together. In fact, Ronin can be a little slow at times, with the possibility that some casual thrill-seekers may be left in the dust, due to the complex plot. I was just happy to have at least buried the hatchet by finally seeing it and being moderately entertained for two hours.

7/10

Peace,
- Jon