Song of the day: “You’re a clown” by the Beatnuts

RocknRolla

Director: Guy Ritchie
Genre: Action/Crime/Comedy
Year: 2008

Guy Ritchie is best when he is working with what got him running from the start, namely the crime flick packed with British gangsters, junkies and crime lords in a world spattered with blood, black comedy and a complete disregard for how much paperwork each corpse brings to those working on the side of the law. It does not matter, long term, there are never repercussions. Much like the style of editing that accompanies his movies, it’s about the now and the immediate future, and like the hits so craved by his characters, it is meant to give instant gratification.

Lock, Stock and Two Smokin’ Barrels, followed by Snatch were two movies that certainly put Ritchie on the map and gave him a canvas and palette to work with. Unfortunately, Ritchie is no Danny Boyle and though he did try to expand, I don’t know that he quite succeeded. How much that had to do with his former wife Madonna, or his break up with former producer Matthew Vaughn I don’t really know or much care. All that is worth mentioning is that for a while there, it looked like Ritchie was going the way of Shyamalan, which is to say: going doooooooooowwwwnn.

I did not even bother with Revolver, after hearing comments from a number of people whose judgment I trust, I figured it would not be worth my time. But if there were to be a comeback film for Ritchie, RocknRolla would be it and largely it does just that, bringing us all back to what we used to love him for. Gritty crime, convoluted stories, odd characters, mischievous plots of broken trust and backstabbings galore! So what if none of the characters act like God gave them a conscience free of charge? It makes for entertaining, gun toting fun. It is what Guy Ritchie does. And thankfully, in that sense, RocknRolla delivers.

While perhaps not the gems that were his first two movies, this one is definitely in the right direction, dealing with scheming Real Estate deals, dirty politics, a missing painting and a really hard to control rocker that is supposed to be dead (for the third time this year). Initially, One Two and Mumbles, find a great plan which they hope to develop into a load of cash, but ignorant about the corruption above them, they end up not only being taken for the property but also owing money to Lenny Cole, a guy who has the city under his thumb and who is now going to bed (figuratively) with a rich and powerful Russian, who lends him his ‘lucky painting’ as a token of his appreciation. Enter the RocknRolla, who seems to be a side-note to the whole story, only to find his role increasingly central to a spiraling pattern of violence that ends up painting the town all sorts of red while giving us a few laughs along the way.

So while the storyline and plot could be called entertaining and fun to watch, there is definitely too many characters bouncing off our screens, which can make the film feel somewhat crowded and while some of these roles are memorable, such as One Two (Gerard Butler), Jhonny Quid (Tobby Kebbell), Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson) and some are easy on the eyes Stella (Thandie Newton), a few of them fall through the cracks. Ludacris can not act his way out of a wet paper bag and Jeremy Piven fails to give his Roman character the life he has brought to numerous other roles, and Idris Elba’s character Mumbles has potential but is not given nearly enough screen time to establish itself. In my humble opinion, it would not be a bad choice to scale down the size of the cast and focus instead on tightening up the story.

As I mentioned before, if you liked the early Ritchie, you will like this movie, you will enjoy the dialogue, you will receive the expected twists and you will not be disappointed in the soundtrack. All and all, it seems Guy Ritchie is making his way back to his old, likable self…now let’s just hope those rumors plaguing buzzing around the Holmes production are exactly that. Rumors.

Rating:
Notes: Violence, language and some sexuality though…if I recall correctly, no actual nudity.
Quote: Archie: If a slap don’t work, you cut ‘em or you pay ‘em, but you keep your receipts, cos this ain’t the Mafia.