Film Reviews by QD

Ignore the slightly preposterous Japanese rubric of 'Ronin' (or samurai without masters) being applied to mercenaries and thieves for hire in France, and enjoy this for it is: a rip-roaring thriller with an amoral heart. There is a suitcase to be stolen and de Niro and Jean Reno, among others, are the men for it. Their employers are the IRA and their opponents, the Russian mafia. Cue mayhem across Paris and the South of France, with enough collateral damage for a small war. The director John Frankenheimer is not afraid to go for the jugular, and piles one set piece on another, the most jaw dropping being a car chase against the flow of traffic on Paris' peripharique. Excellent performances from the two leads, and thoroughly nasty support from Stellan Skarsgard and Jonathan Pryce.