Ronin

Released: 1998

Review Date: 12.2.09
Star rating: 4 out of 5

Robert De Niro (Sam), Jean Reno (Vincent), Natascha McElhone (Deirdre), Stellan Skarsgard (Gregor), Sean Bean (Spence), Skipp Sudduth (Larry), Michael Lonsdale (Jean-Pierre).

Irish terrorists want a briefcase with unknown contents and hire a squad of mercenaries, Ronin, headed by ex-CIA agent Sam to steal it. But after the heist goes wrong, the mercenaries are distrustful of each other, and their boss appears to be shafting them, will they be able to finish the job?

This one jumps into the intrigue and plot pretty quickly then uses the story for character development throughout the rest of the film. The plot feels good and fairly solid. With political perspective and every character having an unknown past it is just complicated enough to be interesting without being difficult to follow. And once the action kicks in, things get really good. The story also does a good job of walking the line between reality and fantasy, making you wonder if there are really people like this in the world and if this how they get things done.

Acting was very nice. De Niro was perfect for his role being both believeable and chrismatic at the same time. Reno, McElhone, and Skarsgard also did wonderfully and fit their roles very nicely. Bean also put forth a nice, if brief, performance.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were all well done and I enjoyed a lot of the sets and scenery. Sound was good and the soundtrack fit the film well. Dialogue was good and everyone was understandable easily, even with strong accents.

Overall this was a well done action crime thriller with a good quality feel. Despite being made in 1998 the film feels much newer. If you are a fan of the genre this is well worth watching so put it in the top half of your Must See list. With violence and some foul language this one should be fine for older teens and above.