Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, Automoblog earns from qualifying purchases, including movies shown here. These commissions come to us at no additional cost to you.
ronin It’s entertaining from start to finish. The cast is excellent, the script flows, and it continues to attract a wide audience a quarter of a century later. Is it a gear movie? Well, basically ronin it’s a caper movie, more of a police thriller and less of a car movie. Except for two things: There are fantastic car chases, and John Frankenheimer directed Ronin, who previously directed Grand Prix in 1966, one of the best racing movies ever.
Ronin Synopsis
In Paris, a mysterious Irish woman recruits a group of mercenary thieves to intercept a convoy and steal a metal briefcase. What’s in the case remains a mystery throughout. The team is an international assortment of men with the skills, training and mindset to carry out a job like this.
The hunt begins when one of the crew, Gregor (Stellan Skarsgård), tricks himself into stealing the case for himself. Gregor, a German computer specialist with ties to the KGB, is greasy, creepy, and about as reliable as a cheap ladder. Gregor is played perfectly by Skarsgård. The team is now trying to find Gregor before he sells the case to another group of bad guys.
From now on, ronin It’s a long hunt through the south of France and back through Paris that’s thrillingly punctuated by two incredible chase scenes, one to win back the case and one to win back the case, and throughout, the loyalties and motivations change between characters.
cast and characters
Oohh baby, what a cast! Let’s start with the most obvious: Robert De Niro as Sam Regazolli. He is currently a mercenary, but there are indications that he used to work for the CIA. As always, De Niro is on point, and it was nice, at the time, to see him in a non-mob role.
Jean Reno stars as Vincent, a French gunslinger who quickly befriends De Niro’s Sam. Reno is and always will be every inch a Frenchman; every gesture seems to be a shrug, and his whole personality is one of world-wear punctuated with sighs. Slow to move and quick to shoot, Vincent is not to be fucked
Natascha McElhone stars as Deirdre, a mysterious Irishwoman and IRA agent hired to steal a briefcase by the devious and menacing Seamus O’Rourke. The normally mild-mannered Jonathan Pryce stars as O’Rourke, a troublesome and violent sociopath who’s hell-bent on getting that case.
Before The Lord of the rings The memes are activated, we have Sean Bean playing Spence, an Englishman who is all talk, no competition and a walking liability. It’s a shame to be pigeonholed this way, but Bean has a knack for playing nasty jerks. And let’s not overlook Skipp Sudduth as Larry, the American driver who did most of the character’s stunts for him.
behind the scenes chase
Ronin’s script is dense and heavy, and its writing and editing had a lot of Hollywood drama behind it. That probably has something to do with playwright David Mamet (Sexual perversity in Chicago, american buffalo, GlengarryGlen Ross) attached to the film, although John David Zeik is also credited as a screenwriter.
Otherwise, ronin it is crowded and by numbers. All the effects were practical and believable, especially the driving scenes. This is where Frankenheimer really shows his stuff. He had British versions of the cars for the chase scenes. That way, he could have specialist drivers, or in of ronin Case in point, former F1 driver Jean-Piere Jarrier – he drives the cars while the actors sit behind fictional steering wheels and drive from the left-hand seat.
Frankenheimer offers a master class in automotive sound and visual effects, especially when the BMW 5 Series and Peugeot 406 are on screen.
Should you see Ronin?
the good of ronin is that it works for reducers and the general public. You might suggest it for a movie night with friends while having fun during the chase scenes. if you have never seen ronin, or it’s been a while, is available to rent or stream on Amazon Prime. DVD and Blu-ray copies are also available on Amazon.
Tony Borroz, a long-time writer for Automoblog, has worked on popular driving games as a content expert, as well as working for aerospace companies, software giants, and as a stuntman. He lives in the northeast corner of the most northwestern part of the Pacific Northwest.
