Ronin [VHS]
![Ronin [VHS]](/images/Ronin-VHS-079284209X-L.jpg)
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VHS Movie Reviews of Ronin [VHS]
Movie Review: The best car chase scenes ever put on film
Summary: 5 Stars
I have seen this movie many times and finally saw a good price on Blue-Ray and AZ so I picked it up. The Blue_Ray quality is very good but does not blow you away. So, I would say If you have a good DVD version, you may not need the Blue-Ray.
Now on to the movie: Every time I see this movie I am amazed at the car scenes. How did they film this on location Paris, Nice without killing anyone (maybe they did and I just don't know about it)? The direction and how the cameras do not jitter at high speeds are amazing. It never looks like any of this was shot at slow speeds and then had the film sped up.
While, some might say the plot is contrived, I disagree. I thought the plot was very good and engaging. It created interest in all the characters early on and throughout the movie.
But if you like car chase scenes, you need this movie in your collection with Bullitt, 7 ups, Vanishing Point, French Connection, Bourne Indentity. I'm sure I'm missing some, just Google the rest.
Movie Review: Don't care about extras
Summary: 5 Stars
When I saw this movie on bluray I snapped it up. It's not the type of movie I would replace a DVD version with, but I misplaced or lost my DVD of the film so I had an excellent excuse. It's brilliant. The scene with the Russian ice skater doing her routine to Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini alone is priceless. The chase scenes are some of the most epic put on film, if a tad redundant and somewhat long. A solid and thoughtful spy/action movie.
Briefly on extras: Unlike some other writers, I simply don't care about them. I was really into extras when DVD's first came out about 10 years ago, but I have long since lost interest and rarely do I view extras of any kind. The commentaries, especially, I avoid like the plague. Just the movie as it played in theaters is good enough for me. The trailer perhaps. I'll ignore everything else with rare exceptions.
Movie Review: Don't Let the Cover Full You (Not One Extra)
Summary: 3 Stars
The 1st Official BR Release of Ronin
Sound like a Great Must have BR Disc
Just on it's own the BR is Very Good The PQ is Stunning, Crisp & Clean!
The Audio is also very good DTS 5.1 Close 2 Perfect @ Times Though dialog is a bit Low
Great Transfer
But, If u are looking to get all The Great Extras from the second Version of the Standard dvd brought over to the HD Format
Don't hold your Breathe The BR Disc is Naked w/ NO Extras
Which is Dreadful
MGM Tends 2 do this with some of there Fully Loaded Films when doing the Special Editions to the BR Format
Example 2 Great MGM Films also have been Transfered to BR with Nothing!
(Robocop & Usual Suspects)
The Film is so good it deserves the Special Edition BR Version
Movie/HD Transfer 8.5/10
Extras 0/10
Movie Review: "...If You Don't Mind...I'm Gonna Pass Out Now..."
Summary: 4 Stars
*** BLU RAY REVIEW ***
For the first 20 minutes of John Frankenheimer's 1998 brilliant chase movie, you look at the BLU RAY box and wonder where the hell is the improvement? At the time they made it, they weren't of course thinking about future formats and their picture quality exposing limitations - they were just thinking about getting the mood right and setting up the plot. Filmed in a dark alley and then a dim French cafe at night, and staying there for quite a while - the opening clarity isn't great and I find that the BLU RAY format only accentuates this - the deficiencies of indoor lighting. But once you get to the daytime scenes that follow, then the fabulous city locations after that and especially to the close-up shots of the actor's faces, things improve dramatically.
And like that other genius caper movie of the Nineties "The Usual Suspects", not only could you not pay for such a stunning and diverse cast now - "Ronin" has admirably stood the test of time. It bears repeated viewing which of course makes it ideal BLU RAY replacement-fodder.
For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed the picture improvements - Nastasha McElhone's gorgeously huge eyes - De Niro's mole - Jean Reno's stubble - Sean Bean's sweaty brow - it's all there and amplified. And those fantastic car-chases that "Bourne" surely aped... There's even an unintentionally funny moment when Stellan Skarsgard is in his car with a gun and silencer about to trade the silver case to some dodgy type - you can see the lipstick accentuating his lips - its looks comical. And then that famous De Niro scene where he instructs Michael Lonsdale and Jean Reno to surgically remove a Teflon-laced bullet from his stomach without anaesthetic so he can remain conscious throughout and direct them properly - is just priceless (the title of this review is the dialogue De Niro speaks after the operation is over).
But as other reviewers have noted, the big let down is the lack of extras - and especially the absence of the startling brutal alternative ending where Natasha McElhone's Belfast character 'Deirdre' is involved - it's missing - and many thought it a better ending than the one used in cinema's.
And worse than that - there's no insights? I mean if ever a film deserved commentaries and a more than a few making-of features - then it's "Ronin".
Still - a great film - now visually improved - and as wicked a movie as you remember it.
Despite its bare-bones presentation - it's recommended.
Movie Review: Action Adventure in France
Summary: 2 Stars
In feudal Japan warriors who did not have a lord but were free-lancers were called "Ronin", or mercenaries. This film begins in Paris. A man watches from the shadows. A woman enters a bar. Another man watches. [We know something will happen.] They are summoned to a meeting. "Labor or management?" They are to ambush a vehicle to hijack a container. The guards are well-armed, more information will be available. Sam asks questions. There is a meeting to buy the guns from strangers. Is there trust? Will something go wrong? Will there be a chase? "Who are our employers?" The details about the hijack are given. Is one of them unreliable?
The team arrives in Nice to scout the location. They photograph the target. [Nobody notices this!] There is surveillance at night. Can traffic lights be remotely controlled? The ambush occurs on a city street. How many inconvenient bystanders? Next is the car chase through the country and narrow streets. There is a shoot-out between the groups. Something goes very wrong. A meeting is arranged, the disagreement is resolved. What next? "I know those men." Cell phones provide instant communication. There is a chase through the Colosseum of Arles, more shooting, then an escape. Were they sold out? There is an operation to remove a bullet. No anesthetic for a tough guy. Will they get the keys? We see a part of town avoided by tourists. "Why?" There is a car chase through a tunnel and then through traffic. Are they going the wrong way? They come to the end of their road. "Where does he go?" "Why ice skates?" Why go to an ice show? To find more bodies? Will there be another violent shoot-out? Can there be a happy ending after all the action? "Keep in touch."
The many foreign scenes remind me of those "James Bond" films of the 1960s. The search for something of value that proves illusory was done in "The Maltese Falcon". Assembling a team for a crime was done in "The Asphalt Jungle". They spent too much money on car chases and not enough on a good story for this exercise in futility.