Ronin

Dir: John Frankenheimer, 1998 (9*)

This is Frankenheimer's high water mark for action films, perhaps his best film, which includes Manchurian Candidate, Seven Days in May, Reindeer Games, and another of my favorites, The Train. A woman, perhaps an IRA terrorist, Natascha McElhone (the blonde ex-wife on cable tv's Californication), hires Robert de Niro and a team of professionals, which includes the terrific French actor Jean Reno, to retrieve a briefcase, without telling them what's in it. This vague information and other secrecy bothers the team, but that's just the beginning of their troubles. This is a heady, intellectual film that also packs some terrific chases and superb editing, a rare combination, a one of the few that begs for a sequel. Excellent all-around, one of the best of the genre.