Ronin (DVD)

One of the best things I found about having Sky TV when I was at home was being able to discover films I normally wouldn’t have heard of when I was younger. I’ve been a pretty big fan of Robert De Niro and his movies for as long as I can remember and around 2000 I came across a movie on Sky that I ended up really enjoying. That movie was Ronin and since that fateful night watching the movie channels it has become one of my favourite films. It does seem to be a film people discovered more by accident than anything else but I’ve always thought it was a great film. When a freelancing former US government agent (De Niro) is hired to take part in a job to track ...  Read the complete review

If you remember and liked 'Bullit' and thought the best bits of 'The Italian Job' were the scenes with the minis driving through the narrow streets of Turin then this is the film for you. If 'The Piano', 'Steel Magnolias' or 'Terms of Endearment' is more your kind of thing then caution is advised! THE STORY In traditional Japanese society a Ronin is a samurai who has lost his master, thus forced to sell his services as a mercenary. In this film a group of modern day 'Ronin are hired by a mysterious group led by the never seen Seamus and the ruthless but beautiful Deirdre. They meet for the first time in a run ...  Read the complete review

This movie contains an explanation for its awkward title, which you'll learn if you watch it. The story is one of those organized crime tales where different people get together to carry on an important theft or robbery. I believe that in what is professional organized crime, these people don't even know each other, like in "Ronin". When the movie begins several persons go into the same bar. They act very well, and seem like they don't know each other, at least the real people watching them would think that; but we're watching the movie and know they'll get together. The truth is that they really don't know each other, but the people in the business ...  Read the complete review

John Frankenheimer's "Ronin" marks a return to the international espionage type movies of the seventies rather than being anything to do with disgraced Samurai as the name might otherwise suggest. It boasts an all-star cast including such action movie greats as Robert De Niro and Jean Reno, combined in a movie which features some superb car chases, gunfights and at its very best rivals The French Connection for the crown of its genre. Praise indeed, but praise its well worthy of and even at its worst its still far better than the hoardes of contrived, smirky slapstick action flicks which Hollywood churns out year in year out. The plot itself is ...  Read the complete review

You've probably seen the posters at tube stations promoting this film but with a vague title like this, you're probably wondering (a) what it's all about and (b) whether it's any good. I'll answer (b) first: yes, it's good. One of the best action thrillers I've seen in a while, and when I say that, I'm remembering the likes of The Rock, Con Air, Face Off and The Fugitive, and I'm thinking this film is easily superior to those. Perhaps it's the film noir stylings of this one that make it resonate beyond anything those films can manage. Going into this film, there are two key attractions for me. The first is ...  Read the complete review