Editing Ronin (film) (section)

=== Critical response ===
Critical reception to ''Ronin'' was favorable;{{sfn|Armstrong|2008|p=157}} critics praised its ensemble cast, with many singling out Robert De Niro.<ref name="variety">{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/ronin-1200455207/|title=Review: 'Ronin'|last=McCarthy|first=Todd|author-link=Todd McCarthy|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 14, 1998|access-date=July 29, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331025624/http://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/ronin-1200455207/|archive-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref><ref name="travers">{{cite magazine|last1=Travers|first1=Peter|author-link=Peter Travers|title=Ronin|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/ronin-19980925|access-date=September 29, 2017|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=September 25, 1998|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930105657/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/ronin-19980925|archive-date=September 30, 2017}}</ref><ref name="ebert">{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=Ronin |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ronin-1998 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |access-date=November 9, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110051824/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ronin-1998 |archive-date=November 10, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="maslin">{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |author-link=Janet Maslin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B01EEDD1739F936A1575AC0A96E958260&partner=Rotten%2520Tomatoes |title=Film Review; Real Tough Guys, Real Derring-Do |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 25, 1998 |access-date=May 9, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509063002/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/25/movies/film-review-real-tough-guys-real-derring-do.html |archive-date=May 9, 2018 }}</ref> [[Todd McCarthy]] in ''Variety'' credited De Niro with sustaining the film<ref name="variety"/> but a reviewer from the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'' disagreed.<ref name="chicoreader">{{cite web|last1=Alspector|first1=Lisa|title=Ronin|url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/ronin/Film?oid=1057699|website=[[Chicago Reader]]|date=October 26, 1985|access-date=September 29, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814003319/http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/ronin/Film?oid=1057699|archive-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref> The film's action scenes, particularly the car chases, were generally praised;<ref name="variety"/>{{sfn|Armstrong|2008|p=157}} [[Janet Maslin]] in ''The New York Times'' called them "nothing short of sensational".<ref name="maslin"/> These scenes were criticized by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' for their length<ref name="wapo">{{cite news|last1=O'Sullivan|first1=Michael|title=Run-of-the-Mill 'Ronin'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/movies/reviews/roninosullivan.htm?movieslede=y|access-date=September 29, 2017|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 25, 1998|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410121336/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/movies/reviews/roninosullivan.htm?movieslede=y|archive-date=April 10, 2016}}</ref> and by McCarthy for their excessive [[jump cut]]s.<ref name="variety"/> Robert Fraisse's cinematography was routinely praised;<ref name="variety"/><ref name="travers"/> Michael Wilmington in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' called it superficially attractive and entertaining.<ref name="tribune">{{cite news|last1=Wilmington|first1=Michael|title=Spy Vs. Spy|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-09-25-9809250001-story.html|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=September 25, 1998|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022154138/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-09-25-9809250001-story.html|access-date=October 22, 2018|archive-date=October 22, 2018}}</ref> Although the plot was criticized by the ''Chicago Reader'' as dull and ''The Washington Post'' as derivative,<ref name="wapo"/><ref name="chicoreader"/> Wilmington called it a "familiar but taut tale".<ref name="tribune"/> Some reviewers singled out the espionage scene in which De Niro and Natascha McElhone pose as tourists and photograph their targets at a Cannes hotel as one of the film's best.<ref name="variety"/><ref name="wapo"/>

Critics also evaluated Frankenheimer because the broad acclaim he received with the political thriller ''[[The Manchurian Candidate (1962 film)|The Manchurian Candidate]]'' (1962) established him as a director.<ref name="travers"/><ref name="ebert"/><ref name="tribune"/> Many said he was influenced by the works of fellow filmmaker and close friend [[Jean-Pierre Melville]], particularly Melville's [[neo-noir]] film ''[[Le Samouraï]]'' (1967),{{sfn|Armstrong|2008|p=160}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Ronin Review|last=Stratton|first=David|author-link=David Stratton|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/review/ronin-review|access-date=January 17, 2018|publisher=[[SBS (Australian TV channel)|SBS]]|year=1999|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117050142/https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/review/ronin-review|archive-date=January 17, 2018}}</ref> but McCarthy wrote that ''Ronin'' lacks Melville's "world-weary, existential ennui".<ref name="variety"/>  The film was considered to be a return to form for Frankenheimer,<ref name="bowie">{{cite magazine |last=Bowie |first=Stephen |title=Great Directors: John Frankenheimer |magazine=[[Senses of Cinema]] |date=November 2006 |issn=1443-4059 |url=http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/great-directors/frankenheimer/ |access-date=May 15, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602182316/http://sensesofcinema.com/2006/great-directors/frankenheimer/ |archive-date=June 2, 2013 }}</ref>{{sfn|Pomerance|Palmer|2011|p=78}} whose [[Emmy Awards]] for the television films ''[[Against the Wall (1994 film)|Against the Wall]]'' (1994), ''The Burning Season'', ''Andersonville'' and ''George Wallace'' had resurrected his career, after it lost momentum during the 1970s and 1980s due to the director's alcohol addiction.<ref name="tcm">{{cite web|title=John Frankenheimer: Biography|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/65276%7C85719/john-frankenheimer#biography|website=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]] ([[Time Warner]])|access-date=March 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614072621/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/65276%7C85719/John-Frankenheimer/biography.html|archive-date=June 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="travers"/> ''Ronin'' was Frankenheimer's last well-received feature film;<ref name="tcm"/> Wilmington called it the director's best theatrical film in decades despite lacking ''The Manchurian Candidate''{{'s}} "blazing invention",<ref name="tribune"/> and [[Stephen Prince]] called the film his "end-of-career masterpiece".{{sfn|Pomerance|Palmer|2011|p=87}} Prince wrote:

<blockquote>With ''Ronin'', Frankenheimer vindicated his cinematic talents and aesthetic preferences. The film is stylistically bonded with the principles of his work as found in the earliest and best period of his career. Its aesthetic of realism places it with ''[[Grand Prix (1966 film)|Grand Prix]]'', ''[[The Train (1964 film)|The Train]]'', and ''[[The Gypsy Moths]]'', and its minimalist conception of character and narrative detail bonds it to those productions as well. Frankenheimer had not lost his touch as a filmmaker, far from it. ''Ronin'' is smart, sharp, and witty, and it shows a greater facility for visual storytelling than most films made today, by younger directors, can muster.{{sfn|Pomerance|Palmer|2011|p=87}}</blockquote>