Ronin (1998)

Directed by John Frankenheimer. Starring Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Jonathan Pryce, Sean Bean, Skipp Sudduth, Michel Lonsdale, Féodor Atkine. [R]

Gripping action yarn of a crew of Cold War veterans (now mercenaries without masters)—formerly of the CIA (De Niro), KGB (Skarsgård), SAS (Bean), etc.—coming together to pull off a dangerous job in France for a rogue Irish terrorist (Pryce). Thin on narrative and motivation, and an underwritten sub-plot developing romantic implications between De Niro and middlewoman operative McElhone has a weak payoff, but a slew of double-crosses and terse conversations about warrior code keep things interesting in between the action set pieces, which include a pair of electrifying car chases that both rank among the finest ever filmed. Coolly demonstrates the irresistible allure of a good Macguffin—in this case, a large silver briefcase handcuffed to a man’s wrist that seemingly everyone involved would kill for. Visceral, propulsive music score by Elia Cmiral. Frankenheimer’s finest feature in two decades (and, sadly, the last good one he’d ever helm). Co-scripted by David Mamet (under the pseudonym Richard Weisz); Katarina Witt cameos as a Russian figure skater.

80/100