John Frankenheimer's 1998 action opus pretty much slipped under the radar on release – I'm lucky to find someone who's heard of it, let alone seen it. That's a real shame because this is definitely in the top five action movies of the last ten – maybe even twenty – years. Packed from beginning to end with twists, double-crosses, triple-crosses, tons of action from shoot-outs to car-chases, effortless cool and a great cast, this is a superb movie. David Mamet's uncredited influence is clear in some of the wicked spy stuff that De Niro indulges in – like the photographing, for instance – and the script crackles with electricity throughout. Sean Bean also turns in an extended cameo and has some brilliant fireworks with De Niro near the start – it's a definite shame that his character shortly disappears, never to be heard of again.

The film is set in France (and what with THE BOURNE IDENTITY, THE TRANSPORTER, and MAXIMUM RISK also being set in those shores, it's a safe bet that France is the place to be for any aspiring action flick) and deals with a band of hired men, required to retrieve a suitcase from unknown villains. Only problem, its heavily guarded and never leaves the wrist of an important businessman. Soon enough the film is chock full of shoot-outs at Roman ruins and two flamboyant, amazingly powerful car chases, full of stunts, incredible driving, and some quite brilliant smashes and pile-ups. The cast is great; De Niro doesn't seem to make an effort yet his charisma shines through, and this is my favourite performance of his even over the likes of TAXI DRIVER. Jean Reno is underused but effective. Add to this the beautiful but icy Natasha McElhone, the sinister-eyebrowed Pryce and a subdued turn from Starsgard as a businessman type, and you have a heck of a film well worth the watch. Extraordinarily underrated, this is one of my favourite action thrillers ever and one of the best films of the 1990s.

Ronin is defined as a Japanese Samurai who has lost his master and must search for work as a sword for hire or reduced to banditry. A group of experts are gathered in Paris by Deirdre (Natascha McElhone) who is looking to steal a mysterious suitcase. The group (Robert DeNiro, Jean Reno, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, Skipp Sudduth) don't know each other and don't trust each other. The plan is very sketchy, and Deirdre won't tell them what's in the suitcase.

Director John Frankenheimer shows that he still has a bit of juice left in him. The best thing about this movie is the class of acting talents he is able to get. Robert DeNiro is superbly brilliant. Jean Reno is absolutely solid, and Sean Bean puts in a nice turn. The objective is almost unimportant. This is about a bunch of great actors playing around with some mysterious characters. Each of whom may turn out to be something less than reliable.

A group of former worldwide agents – Sam (Robert De Niro),Vincent (Jean Reno),Gregor (Stellan Skarsgard),Spence (Sean Bean) and Dapper (Jan Triska) – are hired by the Irish Deirdre ( Natascha McElhone) to steal a suitcase from a group of very well protected men. They use their military skills to elaborate and assault the other larger team on the road nearby Nice. The action works as planned, except that the group is betrayed by one of the members. Then, they spend their abilities chasing the traitor, who wants to sell the unknown content of the suitcase to the Russians. Lots of action, with car chase, shootings and deaths, happen along the story, most of them in Paris and Nice. The important character Seamus O'Rourke (Jonathan Pryce) has a highlighted participation in the plot. John Frankenheimer shows `good shape' and offers one of the best action movie of the 1990's. Maybe, `Ronin' and `Heat' are the best ones. The movie explains that `Ronin' are former Samurais who lost their master. The team of former agents, who lost their jobs with the end of the Cold War, would be the Ronins of the story. It is hard to believe that a viewer can not like this film. My vote is eight.