John Frankenheimer's Ronin Movie Analysis

Ever heard of a Japanese samurai who lost their lord or master and wondered around without a home, called a Ronin? John Frankenheimer assembled an international team of freelancing former Cold War intelligence warriors for a final mission in his movie thriller Ronin. The mission: to recover a briefcase with mysterious contents for an unknown customer. The movie takes place in Paris and southern France where alliances are made and transform along with the team members loyalties. The fierce tension, realistic car chases through Nice and Paris along with the Cold War spy craft convolute the plot which centers on a mysterious briefcase. The briefcase turns out to be a MacGuffin which is “an object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion despite unusually lacking intrinsic importance” (Merriam-Webster). Ronin is a rough and serious thriller that reminds us of a Seventies action thriller such as Dirty Harry. The main movie cast is fairly large since the movie revolves around the freelancing “Ronin” and mysterious briefcase. Robert De Niro (Sam) is one of the main characters who form an early alliance with Jean Reno (Vincent) …show more content…
Do we ever find out what is in the briefcase? No, because it does not matter. The main characters Sam and Vincent form the alliance and a friendship through all the maniacal double crosses. The movie accomplished this goal and more with its action packed car chases, gun battles and subtle unforeseen motivations. Nix states “The movie is constantly surprising, and its many plot twists, though sometimes unexpected, are never without reason” (Nix). John Frankenheimer’s direction is at its best and is “a perfect example of what REAL action filmmaking is” (MacReady). Frankenheimer uses his camera to focus on insignificant things that later become justified with a little