Their first task before the main mission is to acquire weapons this turns into a setup. Deirdre briefs them on their mission: to attack a heavily armed convoy and steal a large, metallic briefcase. Conversations between the men show that they are all ex-government agents or ex-military-turned-mercenary. She takes them to a warehouse where the Englishman Spence and the German Gregor are waiting. The car chases, which were favorably compared with those in Bullitt and The French Connection, were included on several media outlets' lists as the best depicted on film.Īt a bistro in Montmartre, Irish operative Deirdre meets with two Americans, Sam and Larry, and a Frenchman, Vincent. Film critic and historian Stephen Prince called the film Frankenheimer's "end-of-career masterpiece". Ronin, Frankenheimer's last well-received feature film, was considered to be a return to form for the director. The film performed moderately well at the box office, grossing $70.7 million on a budget of $55 million. Critics were generally positive about the film's action, casting, and technical aspects, while the plot attracted criticism. Ronin premiered at the 1998 Venice Film Festival before its general release on September 25.
Professional racing car drivers coordinated and performed the vehicle stunts, and Elia Cmiral scored the film, his first for a major studio.
The film was photographed by Robert Fraisse in his native France from November 3, 1997, to March 3, 1998. Ronin is noted for its realistic car chases in Nice and Paris, and its convoluted plot that uses the briefcase as a MacGuffin.įrankenheimer signed to direct Zeik's screenplay, which Mamet rewrote to expand De Niro's role and develop plot details, in 1997. The film is about a team of former special operatives hired to steal a mysterious, heavily guarded briefcase while navigating a maze of shifting loyalties. It stars Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, and Jonathan Pryce. No brilliant ideas, or anything like that, just the usual comic stuff.Ronin is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer and written by John David Zeik and David Mamet, under the pseudonym Richard Weisz. To draw the line, the film isn't great, but it's fine enough. However, the host city of Budapest looked really gorgeous throughout, making it well worth it's money shots. I did feel a bit let down by the special effects, with some flimsy looking explosions placed here and there. Perhaps Wilson could have spiced up his game with a bit of the unexpected, but all in all he does what he does best. The actors have their charm but I won't really dwell on this as they are as high profile as it gets, Hollywood style, so you know what you get. It's always just about him, and him and then some more. The so-called funny character is Kelly, who really inflicts a fair amount of pain on his adversaries, but he is just such a nicely drawn, egocentric guy, that it actually works on a comedic level. The story isn't something really new, but it has quite a few humorous plot twists.
I won't even mention rolling on the floor. Thankfully, you will get the chance to laugh out loud, but unfortunately not as much as you'd like to laugh out loud at a comedy. At its heart though it tries to be comedic and funny, so that's upon what it should be judged. I put this movie in two categories, and I think I placed it right: it's a decent comedy, with parts attempting to live up to an action movie. For better or worse, I can say it was about what I expected. I always liked Owen Wilson and Eddie Murphy, so I thought, in case the movie is worth nothing, I'd still get to see some friendly faces.