Ronin (1998)

I like the intro here. Small, seemingly insignificant actions, mistrust without words, facial expressions and a general feeling that something serious is about to happen. The "spy" feeling. I'm not so certain about the necessity of showing off all five headliners in the first 5 minutes though. One misses the feeling of keen intrigue. But that's nitpicking. The first fifteen minutes are brilliant, deNiro playing against a very strong cast, quietly trying to get an edge over the others in terms of information.

deNiro really is feisty here. Using just enough force and aggression (mostly verbal) to get his way almost every time. He even talks his newfound partner through a surgery of himself. Most macho, and a very good scene, with a smirk of a finish.

Now the rest of the cast. Well, one can not complain with regard to quantity. Not all deliver though. McElhone's Irish accent is not quite... well, Irish. And speaking of Irish. Sean Bean is a nervous whimpering wreck amongst some of the biggest pro's in the business. Daft! Skarsgard is good though, and extra credit goes to Michael Lonsdale. Useless as a Bond-villain, but most underrated for character-parts.

Then there's a long car chase. Not bad, but still enough to kill a bit of the feeling that this is a smart spy-flick. And why, oh WHY must all car-chases have a market where they knock over food? Seriously, it's been done, done and overdone. There's another later. Fine scenes, but one is enough for me. The bonus is that it reminds me of The French Connection. To be inspired by greatness can be quite productive.

It would appear to take the spy thing a bit too far at times. Sure, there's supposed to be a doubt as to who actually has the upper hand, but if everyone keeps turning the tables on everybody, it's just tedious.

This flick is at times suspenseful and smart with decent action when it chooses that direction, but it lacks a bit in flow and it begs belief that deNiro's character risks screwing up multiple times for the Irish broad. There is simply very little in the story to support those choices. Furthermore, the ending seems a bit forced and quite low on credibility.

Not bad, but certainly unworthy of deNiro's efforts. And nowhere near following up the intriguing start.

6/10