Ronin (1998)
50KRonin: Directed by John Frankenheimer. With Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård. A freelancing former U.S. Intelligence Agent tries to track down a mysterious package that is wanted by the Irish and the Russians.
“From PASTO, COLOMBIA-Via: L. A. CA; CALI, COLOMBIA u0026amp;ORLANDO, FLu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;An Anti-Action, anti-formula movieu0026quot; was my initial choice for a tag line for this review…but I wanted something more enticing! If youu0026#39;ve gotten this far, youu0026#39;re probably looking for a little clarification. Here it is: It is indeed rare to encounter a truly original element in any movie. Much rarer still, is to have such originality overlooked completely by the viewing public. When this occurs, it really upsets me.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRONIN offers us just such an unheralded moment of cinematic history! Initially curious to see what percent of reviewers had commented on the totally unique and unprecedented selection of a female driver, in what is, undoubtedly,the most REALISTIC cinema chase sequence of the past 20 years, systematically, I began scouring the reviews. What I discovered has not ceased to amaze me! I would like to share the results with you, and let you measure your own reaction.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOut of the 212 reviews that were posted at the time, I carefully went over 70 of them! Only ONE reviewer used a name clearly belonging to woman. Unfortunately, she restricted herself to only 15 or 20 words, so she really didnu0026#39;t end up saying much of anything! (Of course, there were perhaps 7 or 8 anonymous reviews.) Of the 70 reviews, 50, or more, made reference to the chase scene. (Between 80 and 90 percent of those comments were basically positive.)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlthough Robert De Niro and Jean Reno were the only two actors in the film who definitely had more on-screen time than Natascha McElhone, (Dierdre, the chase car driver from HELL!) around 20 reviewers commented on other actors, whose on-screen time wasnu0026#39;t half that of hers. Only 6 or 7 chose to mention her at all! Probably, more reviewers sited Katarina Wittu0026#39;s 3 or 4 minute cameo spot! (Of course, she was much more scantily clad than Ms. McElhone!)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFinally, out of 50, or so, who did talk about the chase scenes, ONLY ONE linked McElhone to them directly! Amazingly, paraphrasing here the revieweru0026#39;s words, u0026quot;The car chase scenes are very authentic. (Except that Natascha McElhone looks like she has never driven fast in her life!)u0026quot; Well, all I can say is, after having screened the scene at least a dozen times, it seems to me that this reviewer was watching a different RONIN!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSome might argue that THELMA u0026amp; LOUISE had car chases. These were all together different, because the movie revolved entirely around its title characters. In RONIN, nobody seems to make a big deal out of the fact, and it is actually Dierdreu0026#39;s boss who pointedly barks at her, u0026quot;YOU DRIVE!u0026quot; Is there a lesson to be learned here? Apparently, all this tends to bear out the title of this review…u0026quot;Clothed women in Action films are invisible to male viewers!u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSad, because RONIN has a lot more to offer than just the chase scenes. It pays yet another subtle tribute to the prowess of women, when an ex-East German operative (Stellan Skarsgaerd) says, u0026quot;Iu0026#39;ve hired the very best sniper assassin…SHE never misses!u0026quot; More than anything else, RONIN provides an utterly believable inside- track on the post-Cold War mercenary and the shadowy, detached world he inhabits, reminiscent of the insideru0026#39;s glimpse of real-world spies offered in the classic, The SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD. If itu0026#39;s John Woo style Action films that make your day…Youu0026#39;ll probably find RONIN much too realistic, too cerebral, too noir and too explosion-less for your tastes!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOn the other hand, if you like your Action movies well grounded in reality, RONIN is a near classic, anti-action, anti-formula film, with a most refreshing European aftertaste, that you will find quite engrossing and enjoyable!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e9 STARS…..ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!”
