Most movie thrillers involve non-stop shooting and car
chases but little else. There is rarely any story applied to them. Those that
choose to offer story are often the most successful, the Bourne series for
example, but have slowly been replaced with the non-stop action instead. RONIN
is a great example of a movie with depth of story as well as plenty of action
on hand.
A group of mercenaries gather in a café in Paris before
being taken to a special location for a meeting with Irish Deirdre (Natascha
McElhorne). The group includes Sam (Robert DeNiro), Vincent (Jean Reno), Gregor
(Stellan Skarsgard), Larry (Skip Sudduth) and Spence (Sean Bean). Deirdre
briefs the men on why they were hired, to steal a metal briefcase from their
target. No information about what it contains or who the man is, just that they
need to take it.
As the team prepares they go to a meeting with a local arms
dealer to pick up some of the equipment that they need. What they find is an
ambush during which Spence shows that he’s been all talk and with little to
back up his bravado. Surviving the encounter he is turned out from the group
who now heads to Nice to do the task at hand. What they don’t know is that the
Russian mob is also after the same case, something Deirdre knows having been
told by her handle, Seamus (Jonathan Pryce).
What should be an easy take down turns into one of the best
car chases ever filmed (and that’s coming from someone who’s not a fan of car
chases). Eventually the team is able to capture the briefcase but soon
discovers they’ve been sold out by one of their own. Now not only must they
find the briefcase and steal it once again, they need to take on the Russians
while doing so. They also have their mind set on revenge for this treasonous
act.
The film works on numerous levels. The story is well plotted
out and twisted enough to hold your interest and have you guessing from start
to finish. The combination of actors from various locations around the world
helps in this case and offers a chance for some to make an appearance in an
American film that helped promote their careers here. And all of the actors
involved make their characters so believable, a sure sign of acting ability.
DeNiro, never a name I would associate with an action film, comes across as
both a deep thinking mercenary and a man who can handle himself in a fight.
Reno, who had already proven himself in THE PROFESSIONAL, just adds to his
status here.
The movie was the next to last film directed by John
Frankenheimer, no stranger to thrillers or action films. Frankenheimer was the
director of films like THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, SEVEN DAYS IN MAY, THE TRAIN,
GRAND PRIX and BLACK SUNDAY. His legacy is one that’s hard to beat and this
movie shows why.
I already owned a copy of this movie and many others may as
well. So why bother picking up a new copy of it? The answer is easy. This new
version is being released by Arrow Video. I’ve said before that Arrow is a
company to be reckoned with when it comes to quality releases on blu-ray.
The movie’s appearance is a great place to start with a 4K
restoration of the film from the original camera negative produced by Arrow
Video exclusively for this release, supervised and approved by director of
photography Robert Fraisse. The extras are just so much icing on the cake and
plentiful. They include an audio commentary track by director Frankenheimer, a
brand new video interview with director of photography Fraisse, a Paul Joyce
documentary on Robert DeNiro, RONIN: FILMING IN THE FAST LANE an archival
behind the scenes featurette, THROUGH THE LENS an archival interview with
Fraisse, THE DRIVING IN RONIN an archival featurette on the legendary car
stunts in the film, NATASCHA McELHONE: AN ACTOR’S PROCESS an archival interview
with the actress, COMPOSING THE RONIN SCORE an archival interview with composer
Elia Cmiral, IN THE RONIN CUTTING ROOM an archival interview with editor Tony
Gibbs, Venice Film Festival interviews with DeNiro, Reno and McElhone, an
alternate ending, the theatrical trailer and a reversible sleeve featuring
original and newly commissioned artwork. In other words you get quite a bang
for your buck.
I remember when I first saw this film I wasn’t all that
impressed with it. I mean I enjoyed it but it didn’t leave a huge impression on
me. Time has changed that opinion. Watching it now I’m more impressed with what
is on the screen. The car chase, as I said, is more outstanding to me,
especially in a world where directors now seem to think the best way to pad out
a movie is to include a boring standard car chase. This one is one of the best.
If you’ve never seen the movie don’t buy the cheap used flat DVD out there,
pick this one up. You’ll be glad you did.
Click here to order.
No comments:
Post a Comment