When you think about the great spy movies, the first things that come to mind are the Bond movies, the Bourne Movies, Mission Impossible, but one movie that you probably don’t think of is Ronin. Ronin is a 1998 spy thriller by director John Frankenheimer, starring Robert De Niro in one of his last great leading roles of the nineties. The movie is a straight forward action thriller, yet at the same time, doesn’t spoon feed you any plot details. The movie just drops you in with this crew of characters and you are along for the ride. Ronin’s strengths lie in it’s characters, it’s narrative structure and it’s very grounded, real world practical effects.
Ronin benefits greatly from an outstanding, if understated cast, and everyone brought their A game to the proceedings. Robert De Niro plays Sam, a sharp, seasoned and exceedingly cool veteran of the spy trade, who’s background is never detailed for us, but we assume he comes from the CIA or the NSA or some other such American intelligence agency. De Niro really sells us on Sam as a wary, highly intelligent and skilled former (or not former) espionage operative who plays his cards extremely close to his vest. Without his performance, we don’t buy into the plot and the stakes, and the movie doesn’t work. Jean Reno turns in a classic performance as Vincent, the man who can get whatever is needed for the job, and develops a fast friendship with Sam. It is very satisfying to see these two professionals earn each others trust and back each other up through the course of the movie. Stellan Skarsgard delivers an excellent performance as the unhinged sociopath former KGB operative who serves as one of the main antagonists in the movie. Natascha McElhone and Jonathan Price turn in strong performances as mysterious employers who bring the team together to recover a briefcase, and they may or may not be a rogue faction of the IRA.
The narrative structure of Ronin really plays to it’s strengths. Instead of laying everything out for you, who the good guys and bad guys are and what they are after, Ronin drops you into the action and reveals itself as the plot develops. We join De Niro’s Sam just outside a pub where he will be meeting his new employers and the team of professional former spies turned mercenaries they have assembled to retrieve a mysterious briefcase for them. The plot is deliberately and refreshingly opaque, never revealing what is in the briefcase nor explicitly laying out any character’s background. The movie does all of it’s plot work and character development on screen, it shows instead of tells, which really is the master touch of film making and performing.
The practical stunts and effects are the final element that make Ronin such a breathtaking spy thriller. The movie was made in 1998 before computer generated images became more prominently used for special effects in action movies. All of the action in this movie was done for real, which becomes exceedingly impressive when you see the several car chases in the movie. It works in the movie’s favour that they opted to use more believable cars for the chases instead of the flashier cars usually used in spy movies. You won’t find any Aston Martins, Ferrari’s, Porsche’s or any other flashy supercars, and definitely no gadgets. Instead the filmmakers opted to use Audi’s, Peugeot’s and Mercedes-Benz’s, which are more practical and draw far less attention. The car chases are truly breathtaking as you race through various European cities, towns and the countryside, and the fact that it was all done for real, with real cars and drivers really serves to ground the action, up the stakes and effectively keep you on the edge of your seat. All of the practical effects and stunts really serve to ground the movie and lend a believability and realism to what is on screen. It could happen and you are never asked by the filmmakers to suspend your disbelief.
Ronin is one of the great underrated spy thrillers of all time and really has it’s own unique and refreshing feel to it. I really think it’s influence on the Bourne movies in the 2000’s is very palpable and cannot be understated. With it’s mysterious characters and their respective motivations that are revealed to us slowly through a straightforward, yet opaque plot structure, it really delivers an engaging cinematic experience. Ronin delivers on a very visceral level as well, with it’s practical stunts and exotic European locales, there really aren’t many action movies like it. If you haven’t seen Ronin and love a good espionage thriller, I suggest you check it out at your earliest convenience.