RONIN (1998) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Director: John Frankenheimer Writers: J.D. Zeik and Richard Weisz (story by Zeik) Starring: Robert DeNiro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Jonathan Pryce, Skipp Suddeth, Sean Bean, Michel Lonsdale, Katarina Witt
"Ronin" is the latest spy/secret agent film, and it's nicely original that it deals with secret agents who have no national affiliate(s). The title "Ronin" refers to a Japanese term referring to Samurai who have lost their leader, and are therefore supposed to roam the world trying to avenge their leader's death. Not one character in this film aren't Japanese, but are in fact an international group of secret agents who have lost all connection to their countries and are now ready to sell themselves to the highest bidder.
There are five Ronin members in this film: Sam (Robert DeNiro), the leader-type and an ex-CIA opperative; Vincent (Jean Reno), a Frenchman; Gregor (Stellan Skarsgård), a Russian computer-expert; Larry (Skipp Suddeth), an expert car-driver; and Spence (Sean Bean), an unexperienced British arms-man. As the film begins, they are all working on a job for a mysterious man whom they don't meet at first (Jonathan Pryce), but who is represented by an Irish tough-as-nails opperative, Dierdre (Natascha McElhone).
The running gag, of course, is that they don't know eachother and have no ties to anyone but themselves. Each character is cloaked in mystery, even from the viewer, and since nothing short of short sentences are said about their past (When asked why she became a secret agent, Dierdre says she was "tricked by a man." Weirdly enough, the same goes for Sam), all you can tell about each character is from the way they talk and act in the beginning of the film, in a long and drawn-out sequence that acts like it's going to be an introduction to their activities and instead ends up being an introduction to their personalities.
Their job, as charged by Dierdre, is to steal a much-coveted metal suitcase from a French billionaire of sorts who has it in his possession, but is desired by several countries, namely Ireland and Russia. Like the suitcase in "Pulp Fiction," it's contents are never revealed, but as the film proceeds, it's passed from person to person, and from country to country, all the while being pursued by the Ronin members, or what's left of them as the film proceeds.
It's a lot like many other espionnage thrillers, what with it's overly-complex story, cliched use of betrayals, and its insistence to follow up several of the twists with car chases. On the other hand, the story is exciting and always in motion; not too many dull or wasted moments here. The betrayals are nicely done, as the characters are always interesting yet mysterious so that you at least have someone to really like or really hate when they come to pass. And the car chases, namely two of them, are so amazingly exciting that even if you feel that they're unnecessary (and at least one of them is), you can't help but get caught up in them.
The film was directed by old school director John Frankenheimer, a man who's had a sad up-and-down career, with ups such as "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Seven Days in May," and downs such as, well, 1996's "The Island of Dr. Moreau." Here, he directs with visual flair. Every scene is tensely directed, and difficult not to watch. He allows his actors to really show their talents in small bits of human comedy. And most notably, his direction of the two chief car chases are so well-done that they almost, almost rank up there with the likes of the ones in "Bullit" and "The French Connection." They are taut, exciting, and brilliantly edited, especially with several shots taken from the point of view of the cars, which are usually going about 80 miles per hour and either on packed highways or car-less European streets. When watching them, I had one thing to say: "Wow!"
The actors are all in top form, especially Robert DeNiro, who doesn't just play the silent-but-tough character; his Sam is a witty, human character, and DeNiro hits every single right note in his performance. Other great performances come from Reno, who's becoming more and more comfortable with the camera with every performance; McElhone, who's tough and cold, almost lovably so; Skarsgård, who's dryness is almost unerrving; and Pryce, who sinks his teeth into a role that you just can't believe is this over-the-top.
One other major reason this works so well is a script that is excellent, and with a good reason: it was co-written by none other than David Mamet, who appears under the psuedonym of Richard Weisz. The dialogue is key Mamet: it has rhythm, it's witty, and it exhibits each of the character's idiosyncrasies deftly. The scenes are surprisingly uncorny, especially a couple of the shake-down scenes (a scene between one character and Skarsgård in a car is just amazing). Just goes to prove that a script by Mamet can really benefit any film.
But it's really the little moments that push the envolope for "Ronin" and make it much better than your average secret agent thriller. Some scenes that are played for either plot or moodiness really have some nice payoffs, in particular one where DeNiro and McElhone try to spy on the French billionaire with the suitcase. And who can deny that the soon-to-be-infamous surgery scene wasn't the most disgusting and painful-but-in-a-good-way scene to watch since the toilet scene in "Trainspotting?" Little moments are often the things that really make a film enjoyable - could "Good Will Hunting" have been a really good movie if it hadn't had the "Do you like apples?" moment? - and when this film takes off, it's not because of the mechanics of the plot, but those moments that just thrill us in one way or another.
"Ronin" could be called a bit of a mess, though, and it can be called confusing. The plot is very mechanical, and it jumps around so much that it may be a little disorienting to try and shuffle things out and come to a conclusion. But "Ronin" is not about plot. It's about the experience and thrill of espionnage. When what's left with the Ronin group keeps trying to get back the suitcase long after any reason would be justifiable, the only thing that keeps them going, really, is not honor or pride, but just a mad desire to do the job they love. That's what keeps the audience going when the plot has become so complex that it's tough to understand everything that has happened: they're just having such a good time.
Frankenheimer has really made a soon-to-be classic with "Ronin." It's exciting, intelligent, fun, as if it were a non-serious adaptation of a Tom Clancy novel, although with some Irish and Russian politics thrown in for good reason. What can you say about a film that features performances from not one, not two, but three Bond villains (them being Michael Lonsdale, Sean Bean, and Jonathan Pryce) other than "wow."
MY RATING (out of 4): ***1/2
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