Ronin

Rating: ***
Date Seen: 1998-11-14

This time I understood the plot much better, having seen it before and knowing what to look for. Besides the excellent car chase scenes, the story is really quite intriguing. I was caught off guard the first time through; there are a lot of subtle signals in the dialog and action which, if missed, will leave the viewer lost.

Compared to other modern action movies, this one bears an understated finesse, a welcome site in a Hollywood consumed by vacuous hype. The sets look... well, real. The dialog feels spontanious, unrehearsed, like we're watching real people caught up in an international mafia war.

As a result, we have to search, read between the lines, to try to figure out who these characters are, what motivates them, and what the hell each one is trying to accomplish. Nothing is spelled out. From the beginning, we are thrust into the middle of the madness, with minimal introductions to this team of warriors.

Robert de Niro's character proves to be the biggest question mark; an ex-CIA agent, he claims to be in it only for the money, but his actions during an arms-trade gone afoul would suggest otherwise. Then there is the team leader, I forget her name. She refuses to answer any inquiries about what orginazation they are stealing the suitcase from, who they are getting it for, or even what it contains.

Confused yet? Watch the movie. Or even better, watch it twice. You won't regret it.