Ronin

"No questions. No answers. That's the business we're in. You just accept it and move on. Maybe that's lesson number three." - Vincent

release year: 1998
genre: spy/action
viewing setting: home Bluray 6/5/22 and home DVD, 2/12/16 and 6/4/09 and 10/30/01 and theater, 9/26/98

synopsis: An assortment of spies are brought together to take a mysterious briefcase from some dangerous people.

impressions: Though confusing, it bears paying attention; the plot actually makes sense now that I've seen it with the luxury of pause/rewind on a DVD player. The one thing that bothered me was how far into this thing the various operatives got without having many details or assurances. This just reinforced what may have been the general idea of the movie: you can't trust anyone. Be that as it may, there is some sharp, snappy dialogue to be had here, plus not one but TWO of the greatest car chases ever filmed. On top of that, the entire movie takes place in Europe, so the scenery is pleasant.

acting: Robert DeNiro and Jean Reno did great jobs and brought appeal to their characters. Others whose roles I thought of as supporting, such as Stellan Skarsgard and the Irish woman, were also well-acted. The characters here were as well-done as the action scenes.

final word: Worth seeing, more than once if you like spy movies.

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