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Ronin

1998 · 122 min · movie
⭐ 7.2 (208,238 votes)

At a bistro in Montmartre, IRA operative Deirdre meets with two Americans, Sam and Larry, and a Frenchman, Vincent. She takes them to a warehouse where Englishman Spence and German Gregor are waiting. Conversations among the men reveal that they are former government and military agents who have become mercenaries. Deirdre briefs the group on their mission: to attack a heavily armed convoy and steal a large, metallic briefcase, whose content is never revealed.

The team's first preparation task is to acquire firearms, which turns into an ambush; the team survives and gets the weapons. Deirdre meets with her handler, Seamus O'Rourke, who tells her that the Russian mafia is bidding on the briefcase and that the team must intervene to prevent them from winning. Spence is exposed as a fraud by Sam; he is dismissed by Deirdre, and the others continue their mission.

Deirdre's team successfully ambushes the convoy at Villefranche-sur-Mer and pursues the survivors to Nice. During the gunfight, Gregor steals the case and replaces it with explosives in an attempt to sabotage the others. He attempts selling it to the Russians, but his contact betrays him; Gregor kills the contact and has Mikhi – the Russian mobster in charge of the deal – agree to another meeting. The team tracks Gregor through one of Sam's old contacts and corners him in the Arles Amphitheatre during his meeting with two of Mikhi's men. Sam chases Gregor, who flees but is caught by Seamus.

Deirdre and Vincent confront the two Russian hoods, prompting a shootout. Sam arrives to help, killing one, but is injured by a ricochet from the other. Seamus kills Larry and escapes with a reluctant Deirdre and the captured Gregor. Vincent takes Sam to a villa that is owned by his friend Jean-Pierre. After removing the bullet and letting Sam recuperate, Jean-Pierre compares Sam's situation to the tale of the 47 Ronin. Vincent asks Jean-Pierre to help them find Gregor and the Irish operatives.

In Paris, Gregor is persuaded through violent interrogation to return the case to Seamus and Deirdre. After retrieving it from a post office, they are pursued by Sam and Vincent in a high-speed chase. Vincent shoots out their tire, sending their car off an overpass. Gregor escapes with the case while road workers rescue Deirdre and Seamus from the burning vehicle. Doubtful of where to go next, Sam and Vincent decide to track down the Russians after discovering that the decoy case that Gregor used in his theft of the original is used for carrying ice skates; one of Jean-Pierre's contacts informs them that the Russians may be involved with figure-skater (and Mikhi's girlfriend) Natacha Kirilova, who is performing at Le Zénith.

During Natacha's show, Mikhi meets with Gregor, who says that a sniper in the arena will shoot Natacha if Mikhi betrays him. Mikhi kills Gregor and takes the case, allowing Natacha to be killed by the sniper. Amid the ensuing chaos from Natacha's shooting, Sam and Vincent leave the arena in time to see Seamus kill Mikhi and steal the case. Sam and Vincent split up; Vincent pursues Seamus but is wounded in a gunfight. Sam finds Deirdre waiting in a getaway car and convinces her to leave, after explaining that he is still in the CIA and is after Seamus, not the case. As she drives away, Seamus is forced to return to the arena as Sam gives chase. Seamus ambushes Sam but is shot dead by Vincent before Seamus can kill Sam.

Sam and Vincent have coffee in the bistro where they first met. A radio broadcast announces that a peace agreement between Sinn Féin and the British government has been reached, partially as a result of Seamus's death. Sam keeps glancing at the door as patrons enter, but Vincent convinces Sam that Deirdre will not be coming back. They shake hands and part ways, but not before Vincent asks what was in the case. Sam replies that he does not remember. Sam drives off with his CIA contact as Vincent pays the bill and leaves.

Directed by

John Frankenheimer

Starring

Robert De Niro
Michael Lonsdale
Jan Triska
Stellan SkarsgÄrd
Sean Bean
Skipp Sudduth
Jean Reno
Féodor Atkine
Ratings provided by IMDB. Information courtesy of IMDb. Used with permission. Wikidata Licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0