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Cover art forRonin

Ronin

Year
1998
Watched
Aug 23, 2023
Rewatch?
Yes

Very lean and propulsive—what’s in the case doesn’t matter, it’s all about best-laid plans going sideways and high-speed chases. I remembered very little about the plot going in, but distinctly remembered the visceral sound of the engines revving. Love how spatially legible the chases are.

What a stacked cast for the main characters, but even for the smaller roles—Katarina Witt is in this as a famous Russian ice skater!

I thought a lot about De Palma’s Mission Impossible while watching this and my main thought about Ronin’s final act is that De Palma could have squeezed a lot more tension in the pivotal ice rink scenes.