RocknRolla

So are you a RocknRolla?

Guy Ritchie is a household name to us film hacks who like to have our niche directors locked away – to influence potential viewers who haven’t heard of them. His movies are solid but he hasn’t exactly popped his “celebrity cherry” yet has he? I mean don’t get me wrong, I am sure all the people who are up on Madonna’s latest whatever (rolls eyes) and read scandal rags, may recognize the man’s name. But like Quentin Tarantino used to be (before commercial super exposure), Guy is that director who has a cult following that isn’t considered mainstream.

With Snatch, and Lock, Stock and Two Smokin’ Barrels we have grown to adore the direction and gritty feeling behind a Guy Ritchie movie. With Revolver falling short of what fans expected of the director the new release of RocknRolla was quiet but it brings us back to what we expect. And what is that you may ask? Well classic, love-able criminal stereotypes with personality bundled into a complex story that somehow works duh!

RocknRolla centers around a story comprised of many personalities without focusing heavily on one. Among our cast of anti-heroes we have the ultra sexy Thandie Newton and 300‘s Gerard Butler, Jeremy Piven and rising star Ludacris. The movie features original nicknames for the gangsters and hitmen, which is typical of the director’s style and maintains a comedic undertone which will have you laughing as you watch it. I think it is the kind of film that anyone can enjoy, just keep your backwards cousin Moe out of the theater since the English accents may anger or scare him away.

The story is centered around a Russian mobster who wants to setup a stadium in a real estate scam to generate millions of pounds. In order to do this, he must first get in bed with local Kingpin Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson) who has his own agenda for making the deal go through. Along the way an important item comes up missing and a deal that should have involved solely two men turns into a tangled web of collision involving not only rocker Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell), but an accountant and a motley crew of thugs.

This is not your typical popcorn flick folks, it takes some adjusting to get used to the English mannerisms (for us North Americans) and things aren’t blowing up every second. What it does deliver though is a clever and intelligent script carried out by talented individuals on the big screen. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the action/drama genre, the box office numbers do not reflect the genius behind RocknRolla (as usual) but take my word on it. This movie rocks!