Genre: Action/Crime
Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges
RunTime: 1 hr 54 mins
Released By: Warner Bros
Rating: M18 (Coarse language and some scenes of intimacy)
Official Website: http://www.rock-n-rolla.com/

Opening Day: 9 October 2008

Synopsis:

When a Russian mobster orchestrates a crooked land deal, millions of dollars are up for grabs, and all of London’s criminal underworld wants in on the action. Everyone from a dangerous crime lord to a sexy accountant, a corrupt politician and down-on-their-luck petty thieves conspire, collude and collide with one another in an effort to get rich quick.

Movie Review:

Ahh…Ye good ole’ British gangster flick graces our screen once more in the form of Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla. This genre was particularly sensationalized sometime around ten years ago with Ritchie’s Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. This was followed up with the cult-favourite, Snatch and a couple of others by various people but the genre never full regained its glory. Ritchie has returned to familiar territory and it might just be a rocknrolla of a time.

RocknRolla is in general, a tale about a web of deceit. The characters involved are quite the colourful bunch and this bodes well for an entertaining affair. Tom Wilkinson plays Lenny Cole, an old school is a businessman who has connections to the British underworld, one who can make anything you want happen. He strikes up a real-estate deal with Russian billionaire, Uri, played by Karel Roden, involving millions of euros and a very lucky painting. Hoping to cash in on the action are Uri’s accountant, Stella played by Thandie Newton and “The Wild Bunch” led by Gerard Butler’s One-Two. Soon enough, a couple of millions go missing as does the very lucky painting and this fuels the tale of RocknRolla.

The movie starts off pretty slowly that for the first quarter, one will not be too certain where the story could really be heading. This is of course till the heist and capers occur that the story really starts moving ahead with the usual blend of British humour and manners. The movie is not exactly a visual spectacle but it is a fancy flick that has several interesting moments that are downright funny and bordering on the philosophical. It is not just the high jinks that occur that keep the story, the randy bunch of characters makes the ride a pretty fun one.

Having played a character with underworld connections before in Batman Begins and Cassandra’s Dream, Tom Wilkinson sports a bald hair-do and slips much comfortably into the role of Lenny Cole. Another highlight would be the fantastic performance of Toby Kebbell as Johnny Quid, the man who more or less gets things into quite a mess and Thandie Newton as the conniving accountant, more or less does well enough in this movie.

However, it is “The Wild Bunch” that the movie belongs to. Joining Gerard Butler are Idris Elba and Tom Hardy as Mumbles and Bob respectively, the guys hired to pull the heists. They often get caught up in much undesired circumstances and the roughhousing they get entangled in with two badass Russians is quite a spectacle to watch on screen. Butler continues to prove his acting chops and should really be getting more credit for his works.

RocknRolla may not offer something that is new to the gangster genre but it is a watchable flick throughout. Guy Ritchie may have stuck with the same formula that he used for his previous gangster flicks but it is a fun experience for those who may not have seen a gangster flick before. Ritchie is back where he belongs.

Movie Rating:



(Guy Ritchie has gotten his groove back on and this is a rocknrolling time at the movies)

Review by Mohamad Shaifulbahri