RocknRolla (2008)
“There’s no school like the old school, and I’m the fucking headmaster.” – Lenny Cole.
RocknRolla (2008)
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Written by: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Idris Elba, Thandie Newton, Toby Kebbell
YESSSSSSS. Not Guy Ritchie’s best film (that’s Snatch), but it’s the one I’ve rewatched the most. Easy to follow, incredibly funny, and following his gangster movie template to-a-tee, RocknRolla is an underappreciated action-thriller-comedy that you can throw on for a fun 2 hours.
The film follows Russian mobster Uri (Roden), who engages the services of London crime king-pin Lenny Cole (Wilkinson) to facilitate a large land acquisition deal. However, when the money gets stolen, the entire London underworld find themselves tied up in the lurid deal, and no one is safe.
Similar to Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and The Gentlemen (Ritchie’s other gangster films), the movie relies on the intertwined fates of a large group of colourful characters. Their story arcs often overlap, with these run-ins acting as a vehicle to progress the plot. Sometimes an excess of characters can hinder the pace of a film and make it disgusting to follow (here’s looking at you, Suicide Squad). However, Ritchie has avoided this pitfall by making the plot so obscenely simple that he has the freedom to develop the characters however he wants. The story revolves around a central ‘totem’ – Uri’s “lucky painting” – which is stolen and then makes its way from one character to another throughout. In it’s simplest form, that's the skeleton of the story, with some crazy gangster hi-jinks throughout. It’s a perfect example of not having to complicate the plot just for the sake of it.
Which brings me to the characters. Our ‘heroes’ are ‘The Wild Bunch’ – still crooks, sure, but they’re the working class of the underworld. They get kicked around by Lenny Cole and his boys, but with charismatic charm and some killer nicknames – One Two (Butler), Mumbles (Elba) and Handsome Bob (Hardy) – you’d want to have a beer with them. Cole and his right-hand man Archy (Strong) provide the best lines in the film (“If a slap don’t work, you cut ‘em or you pay ‘em, but keep the fucking receipts because we ain’t the fucking mafia!”), Thandie Newton’s Stella is a bored affluent lawyer looking to spice up her life, and you even get a good Ludacris and Jeremy Piven cameo.
All of these characters and their performances are impressive, but the show-stopper is Toby Kebbell as rockstar-turned-junkie Johnny Quid. It’s such a zany and fun character, and will be the thing you most remember from the film. Quid also has some sneaky great philosophical musings throughout, with the ‘cigarette packet’ monologue some fantastic writing by Ritchie.
A satisfying ending wraps up the enjoyable two-hour adventure, with Guy Ritchie smacking this out of the park. Even if you don’t like gangster movies, I still recommend RocknRolla to anyone who enjoys great characters, talented actors, and some easy-to-digest action. Not a ‘masterpiece’ and not Ritchie’s best, but this is rewatchable, enjoyable filmmaking at it’s best.
Rating: 8 /10
Sequel?
Ritchie has written a script for the sequel, and is waiting studio approval. GIVE US THE SEQUEL SOMEBODY, PLEASE
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