Here's a movie review. I know.... car group and all, but this one is related
to automotive matters.
I rented the DVD of Ronin the other evening. De Niro was good, and the
French sidekick, whose name escapes me was OK, but the rest of them including
the red haired slightly bug-eyed female lead (whose brief romantic interlude
with De Niro was as forgettable as her acting), didn't engage my sympathy.
The real star of the movie, however, was the stunt driving.
It is better than anything I have seen since Bullitt (one of the first DVDs I
bought. Although De Niro and one of the other drivers are no Steve McQueen,
and in any case no doubt had stunt drivers (I think Steve did at least part
of his own driving), the level of effects is truly excellent.
It is set in France in scenic surroundings, and the driving on country roads,
in the city, the WRONG way on autoroutes etc. is pretty thrilling and looks
quite realistic - it doesn't look choreographed, and not every car that comes
to grief bursts into flame; in short, it appears that some thought actually
went into that part of the shooting.
The good guys drive a nitrous burning Audi A8, as well as miscellaneous
Renault/Peugeot stuff, and the bad guys also a BMW and various other European
iron.
For the squeamish - no nudity, but a fair bit of blood. Recommended!
Bill Spohn
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