Ten-year-late movie reviews, part n
Apr. 8th, 2008 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lederhosenWatched 'Ronin' on the weekend, while ironing. I'd heard a lot of comparisons to 'Heat', which I loved, but I was a bit disappointed. Okay action flick with some nice chase sequences, but it didn't have the same zing as 'Heat'. Less characterisation - oddly enough, the one who felt most like a real person was the one who got written out early, alas - and... well, I'm of the opinion that if you're making a film about double-dealing and plot twists, the plot twists ought to make some sort of sense in hindsight.
So, the premise is that everybody wants a mysterious suitcase. De Niro is one of a bunch of gunmen hired to ambush the current owners of the suitcase and turn it over to his employer, an Irish woman (who as far as I can tell is there to show us that De Niro isn't completely morally bankrupt because he's unwilling to shoot her when the situation calls for it). Ambush, lots of people killed (criminals and bystanders alike), massive car chase through crowded streets, suitcase captured, suitcase stolen, more double dealing, lots more criminals and bystanders killed. Story of the Forty-Seven Ronin heavily referenced, and then it turns out that De Niro is actually a CIA agent who's turned to a life of crime to build his cover, all of which is aimed at finding the Irishwoman's boss, who's an Evil IRA Dude.
It's never explained quite why a CIA agent should go so far overboard trying to catch an IRA mastermind - I never got the impression that the IRA were terribly high on the CIA's list of priorities - but assuming that he has some sort of good reason, probably involving a woman in a refrigerator... wouldn't it be easier to just have her tailed and trace her phone calls, rather than embarking on a rampage through the French countryside and leaving God-knows-how-many innocent people dead?
Also, the bit with the Teflon-coated bullets made me groan, and not in a good way. Maybe Hollywood is trying to make gangsters less effective by misinforming them about firearms?
So, the premise is that everybody wants a mysterious suitcase. De Niro is one of a bunch of gunmen hired to ambush the current owners of the suitcase and turn it over to his employer, an Irish woman (who as far as I can tell is there to show us that De Niro isn't completely morally bankrupt because he's unwilling to shoot her when the situation calls for it). Ambush, lots of people killed (criminals and bystanders alike), massive car chase through crowded streets, suitcase captured, suitcase stolen, more double dealing, lots more criminals and bystanders killed. Story of the Forty-Seven Ronin heavily referenced, and then it turns out that De Niro is actually a CIA agent who's turned to a life of crime to build his cover, all of which is aimed at finding the Irishwoman's boss, who's an Evil IRA Dude.
It's never explained quite why a CIA agent should go so far overboard trying to catch an IRA mastermind - I never got the impression that the IRA were terribly high on the CIA's list of priorities - but assuming that he has some sort of good reason, probably involving a woman in a refrigerator... wouldn't it be easier to just have her tailed and trace her phone calls, rather than embarking on a rampage through the French countryside and leaving God-knows-how-many innocent people dead?
Also, the bit with the Teflon-coated bullets made me groan, and not in a good way. Maybe Hollywood is trying to make gangsters less effective by misinforming them about firearms?
