“What’s in the case?”
Although the double dip is common among studios now, fans will not want to pass on Ronin – Two Disc Collector’s Edition – a smart and slick action thriller from Robert De Niro and legendary director John Frankenheimer.
Ronin has a huge international cast including De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgard, Sean Bean, and Jonathan Price. It is a film that starts off slow, draws you in to the characters, and then hits you with fast paced car chases and action scenes. I loved every minute of it.
Ronin is the Japanese word used for a Samurai without a master, but Frankenheimer spins that meaning to into the modern world to include free agents with “special skills” that are willing to do anything for a price. The story follows a group of people (mostly with military backgrounds and mysterious pasts) brought together to steal a case for their contact -Dierdre (McElhone).
She won’t tell them what is in the case (Frankenheimer points out in commentary that the Ronin and the audience don’t need to know) or who are their employers. After a botched gun buy (which includes some gun play and one of the movie’s trademark car chases), the team dynamics change and Sam (De Niro) becomes the obvious leader and the one who clearly has the most experience. We also start to see a sort of friendship and trust forming between Sam and Vincent (Reno) - which will come into play later in the movie.
From there, the film moves to the actual robbery of the case (which involves a massive shootout and even longer high speed car chase); a double cross by one of our group of Ronin (if you can’t trust a gun for hire who can you trust); an attempt by the team to retrieve the case; and yet another double cross (this time by their employer).
De Niro is willing to do anything to get the case
The film then shifts again to Sam and Vincent as they try to retrieve the case and get revenge on their employer for double-crossing them in the first place. Naturally, this attempt leads to more gunfights and even bigger car chases – all helmed by Frankenheimer who is the master at this sort of movie even if he did bring us Reindeer Games.
Ronin is a great movie on many levels, and one of my personal favorites. De Niro and Reno are at the top of their game in the film, and work extremely well together. It is hard to imagine anyone else playing these roles and complementing each others acting styles as well. Both actors thrive in this kind of film (one of Reno’s best performances remains Leon or The Professional as it was called in the U.S.), and De Niro nails the Sam character with a cold precision that is always plotting, and a calm demeanor that has violence just under the surface.
Frankenheimer sets the movie in France, and crafts a truly international feel to a somewhat typical plot (we have seen the spy double crossed theme before). The director knows how to handle high paced car chases, and big action scenes. He is also a master at the subtle crafting of the characters and using the actors’ expressions, movements, and body language to tell the story. This is seen in the opening minutes of the film where the group first comes together (as De Niro slowly test the group’s skills in the opening meeting) and then later in the film as the action begins to really heat up (such as where Dierdre is forced between her loyalty to the team and to her employers).
The DVD comes loaded with special features on the two discs. The first discs features include an alternate ending and commentary by Frankenheimer. Both of these features were included on the original DVD release of Ronin, but are still enjoyable – although I prefer the theatrical ending more than the alternate.
Reno works extremely well with De Niro in the film
The commentary is interesting, and features Frankenheimer discussing why he chose to set the film in France (he had lived there and knew the streets of Paris well); the different camera angles that were used (he likes to have things always moving in the background); and how he used certain scenes without much dialogue to help craft the story and show different sides of the characters (such as the opening scene with De Niro hiding his pistol before entering the bar).
The second disc really brings you behind the scenes of the movie by offering several making of features that take you through all the aspects of what was involved in making the movie. The features (including “Through The Lens,” “Ronin: Filming in the Fast Lane,” “In The Cutting Room With Tony Gibbs,” “Composing the Ronin Score,” “Natascha McElhone: An Actor’s Process,” and “The Driving of Ronin”) do get a bit repetitive and cover a lot of the same ground.
At the same time, it is still interesting to see what lengths the film crew went through (such as hiring race drivers for the car chase scenes) to get the various shots that help make Ronin such a great film. It is also interesting to see Gibbs take you through the editing process and explain how scenes are shaped and the purpose for the various cuts.
The second disc also has a feature containing original Venice Film Festival interviews with De Niro, Reno and McElhone. This feature is also a bit repetitive since some of the interview segments pop up in the “making of” material.
Basically, they ask all the actors the same kinds of questions about how they developed the character; what they felt about the relationships between characters; what the stunts were like to shoot; what it was like to work with Frankenheimer and the other actors (mostly De Niro for the other two); and what they felt about the overall film. De Niro passed a lot of the questions off to someone else (he more than once tells the interviewer to ask Frankenheimer that question), but Reno was really upfront about how the film was made, and what he thought about working with the cast. It is an interesting feature, but there isn’t much real substance there.
Ronin’s high speed car chases that keep you on the edge of your seat
Ronin is simply a great film, and I would recommend the collector’s edition to any fan. Some of the bonus features are a bit repetitive and not really needed, but the overall package is worth the double dip. I would recommend the movie to anyone who might have missed it when it was first released in 1998. It has a great blend of action and suspense from a master at the genre.
Ronin – Two Disc Collector’s Edition is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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