Ronin

calahans

Just saw this movie again over the christmas and had forgotten just how great it is. Everything (bar the irish accents) hits the right note. One of De Niro's best films in the last decade.

Fizman

Very true. Some of the best car chases ever filmed. To top it all it had an Audi S8, mmmmmm.

Does De Niro have the same agent as back then? His roles have changed quite a bit, to say the least.

Vic Vinegar

The first time i watched this when it was first out, i didn't enjoy it at all! I watched it again last week though and liked it a lot. Weird!

Agreed on the oirish accent, it was terrible from yer one!

Basq

I don't know..

I saw Ronin on release, and it just seemed like spank-bank material for lovers of cars.

User45701

Na - i really liked Ronin great film and it must be ive bought it 3 or 4 times on dvd and i cant count the amount of times ive downloaded it when i couldnt find any of the DVD's

The Don

Absolutely excellent film. Loved it from the first time I saw it. Its brilliantly written, directed, and has a great cast, each of which were great in their roles. The car chases are some of the best ever filmed. The gun battles are intelligent and good as well, especially the ambush.

Otacon

Audi S8... /drools

expectationlost

Russo brother have been doing a film school video series Ronin is the second one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zWR9yF8UYo

why was a former SAS guy Sean Bean so out of his depth? it would make more sense if he was spoofing and made up his history for excitement, or that he was spy he re-appeared later

brevity

expectationlost wrote: »

Russo brother have been doing a film school video series Ronin is the second one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zWR9yF8UYo

why was a former SAS guy Sean Bean so out of his depth? it would make more sense if he was spoofing and made up his history for excitement, or that he was spy he re-appeared later

He wasn’t in the SAS, he was a mercenary, making it up he went along. It was just to show that none of them could be trusted

Dades

Sean Bean was shown up to be a spoofer!

"Strawberry jaaam!"

Great movie. It does help to like cars though.
(Especially that A8)

ziedth

brevity wrote: »

He wasn’t in the SAS, he was a mercenary, making it up he went along. It was just to show that none of them could be trusted

I saw a good interview with Sean Bean that he was raging that they cut his character so nonchalantly out of the film so early on. Seemingly he wanted to go further along and be killed along the way due to his spoofing...... seemingly after the film wrapped the director said he regrets not using him more and if he could do it again he would have had him be a spy/mole and caught out by the colour of the boat house thing......

Good film though

Krombopulos Michael

ziedth wrote: »

I saw a good interview with Sean Bean that he was raging that they cut his character so nonchalantly out of the film so early on. Seemingly he wanted to go further along and be killed along the way due to his spoofing...... seemingly after the film wrapped the director said he regrets not using him more and if he could do it again he would have had him be a spy/mole and caught out by the colour of the boat house thing......

Good film though

Really enjoyed this movie. Sean Bean definitely should have been used more and being caught out in a different way would be much better.

Car chases were great and Jean Reno and Robert DiNero relationship was great throughout.

MfMan

Meh, bit of a euro-pudding of a movie, plot I found was a bit loose and tending to go in a few directions. De Niro excusing himself to faint was a bit silly. As usual when he's in a movie, Stellan Skarsgard, was the best thing about it, with typically high-class support from Michael Lonsdale.

brevity

ziedth wrote: »

I saw a good interview with Sean Bean that he was raging that they cut his character so nonchalantly out of the film so early on. Seemingly he wanted to go further along and be killed along the way due to his spoofing...... seemingly after the film wrapped the director said he regrets not using him more and if he could do it again he would have had him be a spy/mole and caught out by the colour of the boat house thing......

Good film though

Sean Bean certainly living up to the idea that every character he plays should be killed.

Dades

Also, if you have to explain to someone what a "McGuffin" is, the briefcase in Ronin is the perfect example.

pixelburp

Dades wrote: »

Also, if you have to explain to someone what a "McGuffin" is, the briefcase in Ronin is the perfect example.

IIRC it caused peace in Northern Ireland though right? I seem to recall it ending with a pointed radio report about peace breaking out (while one of the factions were provos with some hilarious Norn Iron accents).

It's a great chase film though, the plot is kinda incidental to the reason the feature still persists in memory. When folk champion the superiority of "real" stunts over CGI this is a classic example of that approach; but stunt work is only half the equation and the other being a director who can frame and inbue the action with purpose and tension. John Frankenheimer being one of those now old school action directors - alongside the likes of John McTiernan - who seem positively quaint compared with hyperactive descendants like Justin Lin

Dades

pixelburp wrote: »

IIRC it caused peace in Northern Ireland though right? I seem to recall it ending with a pointed radio report about peace breaking out (while one of the factions were provos with some hilarious Norn Iron accents).

I do not remember that!

pixelburp

It's entirely possible I'm mixing it up with another euro-thriller of the era; Natascha McElhone and Jonathan Pryce definitely played provos though, and vividly recall their awful accents (as tends to be the case with awful Oirish brogues)

brevity

“From yuuur focking kontacts”

pixelburp

Well look at that, Ronin is on Netflix so what the heck I thought, I'd see how it stood up against my previous waxing lyrical and so ...

... yeah, the car chases absolutely hold up - and then some. The Paris chase remains phenomenal, and involves a truly insane number of stunt cars smashed around. Perhaps even more than Fury Road; you just don't see this commitment to vehicular carnage anymore, not without lots of CGI and rubbery physics. Or tonnes of fast cutting.

The non driving stuff doesn't quite hold up: baggy, while the script felt like it was trying for a noir-esque abstract, of few words and knowing glances between men of action but ... eh, it needed work.

Oh and yeah I remembered right, the film solves The Troubles thanks to the power of Robert DeNiro

beauf

pixelburp wrote: »

...

The non driving stuff doesn't quite hold up: baggy, while the script felt like it was trying for a noir-esque abstract, of few words and knowing glances between men of action but ... eh, it needed work. ...

Bang on description.

I still love Ronin. Never get tired of re-watching it.

beauf

pixelburp wrote: »

.... you just don't see this commitment to vehicular carnage anymore, not without lots of CGI and rubbery physics. Or tonnes of fast cutting...

You made me think of this...

https://youtu.be/o5OJqCIMEcY

pixelburp

beauf wrote: »

You made me think of this...

https://youtu.be/o5OJqCIMEcY

Yeah to be fair Michael Bay does often film in situ, with as many stunt cars / people and props as possible. He's about the only blockbuster director that does these days. It's just a shame he often ruins it with restless cutting.

Heckler

Just watched it again after maybe 20 years. Still good. Cars chases are great. Shootouts not so much. Stellan Skarsgård was great as the bad guy and always delivers up to this day. River being terrific. The accents were atrocious alright.

Something very likeable about Jean Reno. Will always give something a watch if he's in it.

The Belly

Heckler wrote: »

Just watched it again after maybe 20 years. Still good. Cars chases are great. Shootouts not so much. Stellan Skarsgård was great as the bad guy and always delivers up to this day. River being terrific. The accents were atrocious alright.

Something very likeable about Jean Reno. Will always give something a watch if he's in it.

Léon The Profeesional 1994.