David Mamet wrote this screenplay under the name Richard Weisz, as a gun for hire, much like the masterless samurai of the film's title, who roamed Japan in the 19th Century, loyal only to themselves. A group of men with highly developed skills are called to a meeting in a deserted warehouse in Paris. Sam (Robert De Niro), an American, may be ex-CIA. Vincent (Jean Reno), the terminally cool Frenchman, is a mystery. Russian computer whiz Gregor (Stellan Skarsgaard) is presumably ex-KGB, and Spence (Sean Bean), a British demolitions man, and Larry (Skipp Suddith), another Yank, round out the team. They've been hired by the IRA, through liaison Deirdre (Natascha McElhone), to steal a briefcase of unknown contents somewhere in Europe. As the unit races from one spectacular location on the French Riviera to another, the Tec-9 reigns, the body count mounts, some Russian gangsters get into the act, and the betrayals come fast and furious. In a rare comic moment, Sam stitches up his own bullet wound, an act of tongue-in-cheek Hemingwayism, and asks a friend to finish before he passes out. RONIN features an exceptional cast, sumptuous locations, and the kind of realistic, high-coefficient-of-adversity car chases and action scenes that one expects from a director of John Frankenheimer's skills.
cast
Jean Reno as Vincent Jonathan Pryce as Seamus O'Rourke Natascha McElhone as Deirdre Robert De Niro as Sam Sean Bean as Spence
quote
Sam: You aren't going in there?
Spence: Yeah I'm going in there, and so are you.
Sam: Why am I going in there?
Spence: Why? To protect me!
Sam: There is no protection there. If it's a come on we're fish in a barrel. What are you doing? Why do they want you in there? What are you, crazy?
This adorable little guy might just need a bit of ironing. Easy install. Plays the complete song by the Beatles while mirrors float by. The matching animated saver to my desktop theme, puzzle, stationery, ICQ, WinAmp and Hotbar skins. Source: Ezthemes Size: (590 Kb)
This adorable little guy might just need some ironing. Includes a fun puzzle, floating mirror active & plain wallpaper plus the complete song by the Beatles. Original icons, cursors, logos. Easy install. Saver, stationery, ICQ, WinAmp, Hotbar available. Source: Ezthemes Size: (2.11 Kb)
Ronin takes the concept of the generic spy thriller to new heights. In the post-Cold War atmosphere, it doesn't matter who the bad guys are (as long as they're sufficiently bad), nor who the good guys are (as long as they're sufficiently good). Ronin depicts a group of people with indeterminate motives working for unknown parties to achieve an obscure goal. It doesn't really matter what the ends are...Ronin is primarily interested in the means used to get there. And, surprisingly, given how little is actually revealed, Ronin turns out to be an impressive thriller.
