Ronin MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 Content: -2

Dark in every sense of the word describes RONIN, from the murky scenes in Parisdark alleys to the sinister mission of a few strangers. Deidre (Natasha McElhone), a young Irish woman, has recruited a small but diverse group of men for a dangerous assignment. They are to capture a mysterious case carefully guarded by a known assassin Sam (Robert DeNiro), a former CIA agent, and Vincent (Jean Reno) are two of the elite group. Deidre refuses to divulge any information about who her employer is or what makes the case so valuable. With Sams expert leadership, it looks like they have accomplished their assignment in record time. But the mercenaries soon discover they have been double crossed by one of their own. Back to square one, the motley crew begins a heart-stopping chase through Paris, Nice and the French countryside, sometimes on foot and sometimes in cars. Both Russian and Irish agents are competing for possession of the case, further confusing Deidres group. RONIN will be worth the price of admission for audiences who enjoy intricate plots along with nonstop action and suspense.

Although Ronin has enough gratuitous graphic, bloody violence to justify an R rating, it has no sex or nudity and a limited amount of foul language. The cars zip through narrow streets, crash through markets and sidewalk cafes wreaking havoc everywhere. One chase has the pursued and the pursuers going the wrong way on a busy divided expressway. Cars explode on impact. Several brutal killings from fierce gun battles with powerful automatic weapons are shown with the victims mortal wounds gushing blood. One man is shot point blank in the head and we see a window covered in blood. Sam suffers a painful bullet wound in his side and Vince takes him to a country home. There Sam directs Vince and the elderly resident in a surgical removal of the bullet as he watches. Deidre and other passengers are almost killed when their car careens off a bridge. Yet, a short time later she is driving a car without a scratch. Except for a couple kissing twice in a parked car, there is no sexually suggestive content. Irish and French accents make some of the foul language difficult to understand, but at least five f-words and one regular profanity were fairly clear. Those f-words and the relentless violence give RONIN a negative acceptability rating.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: MGM, 2500 Broadway St., Santa Monica, CA 90404-3061