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Ronin
Metascore
67 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
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  1. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Bill Gallo
    90
    As is common in a Frankenheimer picture, the plot lines get a bit tangled in Ronin, but the atmosphere is tense, the style impeccable.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    90
    It's a welcome throwback to the days when the world didn't have to end or tanker trucks explode to get an action audience's attention.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Elvis Mitchell
    90
    Ronin can be watched as appreciatively for its hard-boiled performances as for its visceral excitement.
  4. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Staff(Not credited)
    88
    Ronin represents an exhilarating return to form for Frankenheimer.
  5. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    88
    Ronin manages to remain focused on the plot and the characters, even while staging increasingly complicated pyrotechnic set pieces and offering its share of white-knuckle moments.
  6. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    88
    What an impeccably crafted film this is -- slightly impoverished in theme, perhaps, but so rich everywhere else that it seems rude to notice.
  7. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    80
    A pleasurable throwback to the sort of gritty, low-tech international thriller that was a staple of the 1960s.
  8. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    I enjoyed the film on two levels: for its skill and its silliness.
  9. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    Frankenheimer doesn't recapture the magic he once created in movies like "The Manchurian Candidate," but he does cook up an effective thriller in the "French Connection" vein.
  10. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    70
    A film in which the mechanics of the plot are far less interesting, and vital, then the interior landscape of men who exist outside the law.
  11. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    70
    Here's a strangely flawed and strangely satisfying movie.
  12. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Anthony Lane
    70
    After a while, you stop counting the chases -- they just get longer and louder, and it's like watching the revival of a forgotten art form; the fact that it's done with a minimum of special effects makes it all the more stirring.
  13. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    67
    It remains head and shoulders above what little competition there is by virtue of its stellar casting, editing, and above all, Frankenheimer's fluid, explosive direction.
  14. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Michael Sauter
    67
    It's not just the crack stunt driving that makes Ronin such a welcome throwback; it's also the existential hardness of this thriller's motley band of mercenaries.
  15. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    60
    Frankenheimer pretty much ignores everything that's happened in the action and thriller genres since 1975, and mostly that's a good thing.
  16. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Denby
    60
    Ronin is well-made, but it's an act of connoisseurship for people who have given up on movies as an art form.
  17. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    60
    Unlike the ronin, the heroes of a Japanese legend, these guys are still searching for a story.
  18. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    50
    Ronin eventually becomes tiresome, but the pairing of De Niro and Reno never gets old.
  19. San Francisco Examiner
    Reviewed by: Walter Addiego
    50
    Ronin shows the mark of a veteran hand and is entertaining in fits and starts.
  20. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Tom Meek
    50
    The concept is intriguing and the car chases are pure adrenaline.
  21. Slate
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    50
    It has a gritty feel and a tight, methodical, one-thing-after-another tempo.
  22. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    50
    Although laced with adrenaline and flavored with noirish seasoning, John Frankenheimer's Ronin is a disappointingly conventional thriller.
  23. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Lisa Alspector
    40
    Not even supercool Robert De Niro can enliven this boring tale about a team of mercenary operatives.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. [Anonymous]
    8
    This action thriller has two really great car chases, and the gun battle hit the mark. However, the performances are also good, and overall, the movie chooses intelligence over idiocy, resulting in a taut, tight and nimble thriller.… Full Review »
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