Ronin (1998)
Directed by John Frankenheimer
A briefcase with undisclosed contents – sought by Irish terrorists and the Russian mob – makes its way into criminals' hands. An Irish liaison assembles a squad of mercenaries, or 'ronin', and gives them the thorny task of recovering the case.
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18 films that influenced Ronin
What critics say influenced Ronin
Much like the classic crime thrillers of the ‘60s and ‘70s (think “Mission: Impossible” and “The French Connection”), “Ronin” is less about being able to comprehend what’s going on, and more about sitting back and having a good time.
"The French Connection" meets "The Dirty Dozen" in this Euro-thriller with a distinctly American flavor.
As cinematic art, they peaked in Bullitt (1968) and The French Connection (1971).
Both are worthy of comparison to the fabled chases of Bullitt and The French Connection.
At its best, Ronin certainly feels as good as, say, The French Connection, still a touchstone for contemporary action movies (Frankenheimer himself directed the more protracted sequel).
Instead, Frankenheimer mounts some elaborately staged car chase sequences that nearly rival Steve McQueen's famous one in "Bullitt."
As cinematic art, they peaked in Bullitt (1968) and The French Connection (1971).
Both are worthy of comparison to the fabled chases of Bullitt and The French Connection.
In mood and style, Ronin is more like 1973's The Day of the Jackal than 1997's The Jackal.
Now comes Mr. Frankenheimer, director of the miraculous thriller The Manchurian Candidate and the high-octane Grand Prix, to make elaborate, hair-raising, knuckle-biting chases the showpieces in a twisty tale of displaced spies.
Having filmed in France before (The Train, Grand Prix), Frankenheimer has a keen eye for the place and, in keeping with the feudal allusion of the title, makes terrific use of the country's crumbling physical history -- overhead shots of a stone arena that looks to be a Roman relic, or tight close-ups of a dark and dank alley sweating out its ancient secrets.
Shot on location in Paris, Nice and the south of France, this film is full of spectacular car chase scenes, scenes that are tailor-made for the director who set the standard back in 1966 with his movie "Grand Prix."
The film was directed by John Frankenheimer, the veteran Hollywood craftsman whose credits include "Grand Prix" and "French Connection II," and you can tell that he's trying, really trying, for that old existential feeling -- to recapture that moment when thrillers, ratcheted into high gear by the techno-visual grit of the New Hollywood, suddenly felt more alive than ever.
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"The French Connection" meets "The Dirty Dozen" in this Euro-thriller with a distinctly American flavor.
In that respect the story is similar to "Reservoir Dogs."
"Ronin" reminded me of a lot of things; spare parts and pieces from "Mission Impossible", "The Usual Suspects", "Reservoir Dogs" and a Bond film or two.
For all its grim stabs at intrigue, its murky variations on "Mission: Impossible" and "Reservoir Dogs," the real point of "Ronin" isn't the assignment itself.
That cast includes Good Will Hunting's Skellan Skarsgård as a fussy East German communications expert, Patriot Games' Sean Bean as a wild-card British weapons man, The Professional's Jean Reno as a reserved French soldier-for-hire, Jonathan Pryce as McElhone's invisible boss and two Americans -- one played (with typical Method smoulder) by the eminence gris of cool himself, Robert De Niro.
But "Ronin" was directed by John Frankenheimer -- the genius hand behind "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Seven Days in May," two of the most intelligent films of the espionage ilk -- and features an international cast of exceptional, if not widely-recognized, actors.
He's brought us such classics as "The Manchurian Candidate," "All Fall Down," "Seven Days In May" and "The Birdman of Alcatraz."
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My guess: Inside this briefcase is the briefcase from “ Pulp Fiction .”
In "Pulp Fiction", we never knew what was in the case but Quentin Tarantino grabbed our interest in scenes like where John Travolta's hitman opened the case, which glowed an eerie light.
He's brought us such classics as "The Manchurian Candidate," "All Fall Down," "Seven Days In May" and "The Birdman of Alcatraz."