Ronin (UK)

Ooh - Cars and Guns.

Yes - I like this. A lot.

The first time I watched this movie I had only just got my amplifier set up and mounted my speakers on the walls - I was very glad I went through all that pain before running this disc. The seperation of the sound effects, particularly during those infamous car chase scenes, is astonishing. Being a confirmed DeNiro addict I wasn`t particularly interested in the plot when I bought the movie - I`d been told that it had an excellent car chase sequence and good old Bob shooting people - and that was good enough for me. It DOES have a plot, however - quite a good one in fact - but I implore you to watch it for 7 minutes of the best "gangsters in cars shooting at each other on busy roads" type footage that you are ever likely to see. I almost bought a Peugeot 406 after watching this, and that is quite something - a Francophile I am not. The choreography of that chase sequence is simply breathtaking.
Of the cast, DeNiro plays, erm, DeNiro, Jean Reno, as we all know from the softly spoken, impeturbable and ruthlessly efficient Frenchman from "Leon", plays a softly spoken, impeturbable an ruthlessly efficient Frenchman, and Sean Bean plays an ex forces gun for hire who`s a bit s*** at it.
This is a must for anyone who`s never driven on the continent - it could be used as an instructional film for tourists thinking of taking the car to France - this is how they drive - In fact I begin to wonder the more times I watch the film if perhaps the car chase wasn`t filmed on a closed set.....

In summary then:

Ooh - Cars and Guns....

A world of freelance killers hired by a splinter group connected to the Irish Republicans, clash with a band of russian terrorists. Both groups are interested in stealing a top secret metal case, the contents of which is never revealed throughout the entire film.

Directed by John Frankenheimer, this movie is an intelligent and action packed thriller of high quality which includes the most exciting car chases ever commited to film. One car that crashes and explodes into the square support pillars of a Paris underpass reminded me of the horrific crash that killed Princess Diana and Dodi.

A film that captures the atmosphere of the Parisian streets and fast action in the underpasses and will leave you excited and breathless at its conclusion.

Coming highly recommended from a friend, I duefully went down to WHSmiths and purchased Ronin. Currently this is my favourite DVD and is worth the 20 quid spent on it.

As you probably already know, the car chases are outstanding and I must too congratulate the director on his work (forgotten his name)....

The worst part of the film is the addition of Irish people, listening to their awful accents :(

De Niro and Reno are without question the stars of the film, Reno being my favourite, especially in that church type place where when he`s about to get shot, with his gun he flicks the blokes gun up into the air and puts two bullets into him.

However without doubt, my favourite moment of the film is when De Niro says "Whenever there`s any doubt, there never is any doubt"

Watching the alternative ending proved to me that they made the right choice.

The only thing I regret about this movie is at the end, when like me, you will undoubtedly want to hear a different answer when De Niro says "I don`t remember".

I only have a stereo sound system to listen with so don`t expect any comments on the dolby digital aspect of the movie.

My only other gripe is that the anamorphic transfer means on a 4:3 TV as mine, most of the screen is wasted with black, I really wish these companies could do double sided, one anamorphic, one 4:3 because I really do want my whole screen to be used.

Well, to finish, this definitely should be in your collection of DVDs.

Got this on Region 1 while in the US. What a brilliant film.

Directed by the same guy who did French Connection II and some other late sixties/earlies seventies this film evokes the older `classic` espionage thriller with some fine acting from de Niro and Jean Reno plus spectacular car chases which really have you on the edge of the seat.

The basic story is that a bunch of mercenaries are assembled to pull a heist, but with a bit of double dealing and treachery we end up on a manhunt which takes us from Paris to Nice and back again. Sean Bean featured high on the cast list but he disappears early on as a useless mercenary with dodgy credentials. I kept expecting him to turn up again later in the film as some cunning MI6 agent but he never does (I guess the cast order is based on salary not minutes on screen!)

Explosions, shoot outs, car chases, intelligent dialogue and a sense of not ever knowing who to trust and who the good guys are makes the 117 minute running time fly by

With the Region 1 disk, its normal on one side 4:3 and widescreen on the other so I get the best of both worlds. The only `extra` is audio commentary from the director.

Sound and picture were great. I only have Pro-Logic but sounded great on my system.

The return of John Frankenheimer. Excellent thriller. Good Disc

Content

An excellent action film with very good acting and car chases that are equally as good

Video

Good quality widescreen transfer

Audio

Good use of all channels with plenty of gunfights and a very good music score

Features

Not a bad selection. The making of documentary is quite informative, the alternative ending shows a slight twist to the story.

Ronin is a very good film, with great performances from the leading cast (even though Natasha McElhone`s Irish accent is pretty poor). The main focus in this film are the amazing car chases which in fact rank up there as some of the best car chases I have ever seen on film.

Story wise, the plot has it`s twists and turns and is ultimately a good thriller.

Picture and sound are equally good and show off the gunfights and car chases really well. As for extras, the deleted scene adds hardly anything, the directors commentary is good and is the highlight for me. A good DVD.

I supposed you could say there are two types of action films: pure action and thrillers. Refreshingly, this one is an action-packed version of the latter. If you like a little more brain than brawn in your films, this is probably worth a couple of hours of your time. Yes, there is substantial drama here. Unlike the usual Hollywood action films, this one anchors the action in reality. There are no overtly melodramatic shootouts (a la Face Off) or overly fantastic explosions. I recall no muscles rippling through ripped t-shirts: the most flesh you`ll see here is part of an uncomfortable amateur surgery scene.

De Niro is one of those actors who seems to produce more the less he`s given. Here his character often his little to say, but everyone pays complete attention when he does say something. I think every film needs a "star" to captivate the audience,de Niro does it here.

Ronin is a great mix of action, suspense and er… car chases. The sequences from this film have to be well up there on the list of "Top 10 car chases of all time". The two main leads De Niro and Reno give two great performances (although I can't think of a film when either of them have given a bad performance!), and I also thought that Natascha McElhone was excellent. Unfortunately Sean Bean had a relatively small part but still managed to shine.

Video and audio are both excellent, as far as I could tell. The sound is just amazing for any of the car sequences. What the special features lack in quantity they make up for in quality. The making of documentary is full of pretty interesting bits of info (for instance director John Frankenheimer telling the stunt driver two things - 1) don't crash and 2) I don't want to see any brake lights). The alternative ending really demonstrates how such a small change can change the whole pitch of the film. There is also a director's commentary which I'm afraid to say I haven't had a chance to listen too yet. Oh, and there's the trailer thrown in as well.

So, a great film with a pretty good disc. And it's pretty easy to find it for under a tenner at the moment, which is a fantastic bargain - this should be part of any decent DVD collection!!