When news of writer/director Guy Ritchie’s new gangster project, RocknRolla, surfaced, I have to say I was hopeful, yet not optimistic. Whilst I was a massive fan of his first two (Lock, Stock and Snatch) the third (Revolver) was an utter car wreck. So, is RocknRolla a spectacular return to form, or another miss?
As with any Guy Ritchie film you can expect a very detailed and intricate plot with several different elements all separate yet interconnected, and all winding towards each other for the big finale. Very briefly the film concerns crime boss Lenny Cole, played by Tom Wilkinson, offering to bribe councillors for planning permission for some Eastern European Crooks, who happen to lend him a painting which gets stolen by a junkie musician named Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell) – the RocknRolla. Obviously Cole tries using his gangster ways to track down this painting as the Europeans want it back, but they have their own problems, as the money they are supposed to pay Cole with keeps getting stolen, thanks to insider information given from their accountant to One Two (Gerard Butler) and the Wild Bunch, who need the money to clear their own debts with Cole.
If you’re not confused by now, I’d be impressed, but there’s no need to panic, as this is possibly one of, if not, the easiest to follow of the Ritchie films to date; which is both a positive and a negative. It’s good because it’s never really confusing, but bad because you never really get to experience the shocks and thrills presented in Lock, Stock or Snatch, as it’s all laid out from the start and any plot development can be seen a mile off.
Another thing that’s somewhat lacking, is the humour that was so evident in those first two films; lines like “Could everyone just stop getting shot” or “it was at a funny angle” are completely absent but there are a few laughs; mainly presented around one character finding out a mate of his is gay, a couple of robberies and during a superbly constructed robbery/chase flashback scene. A scene that lasts a good few minutes has action, humour, and a good bit of directorial flair and is one of the best and most memorable parts of the film.
The real problem here is not necessarily the story, as whilst unsurprising it’s fairly well thought out and expressed… aside from the pacing; Lock, Stock and Snatch gained momentum throughout, growing bigger and bigger until the climax and eventual cool down cliff-hanger. RocknRolla simply doesn’t, it never really takes off, and while great deals of events occur and the story keeps progressing, you’re continually left waiting for it to get going.
One of the biggest shocks of the film was the absence of Jason Statham, who has appeared in all three of Guy’s other crime films, but couldn’t be in RocknRolla because of a scheduling conflict. To make up for that, we have Tom Wilkinson, who easily pulls off playing crime boss Lenny Cole, a role not dissimilar to the one he played in Batman Begins. Gerard Butler (of 300 fame) as One Two is the loveable low-level criminal, a role he fits fairly well, yet somehow isn’t quite as endearing as you’d expect, and doesn’t seem quite hard enough to fulfil the role. Other than that the cast is largely full of people that you will recognize, yet might have trouble placing, such as the girl from Mission Impossible 2 (Thandie Newton), the agent from Entourage (Jeremy Piven) and the bloke from that episode of Sharpe (Mark Strong).
Ritchie has a gift for picking out untapped talent and Mark Strong really shines as Archy, Cole’s right hand man, a loveable honest gangster who’s loyal to the end. The rest of the cast however are nothing special, Thandie Newton gives a fairly lifeless performance, and Jeremy Piven whilst acting as good as ever, isn’t really given a chance to shine (watch Entourage or Smokin’ Aces for classic Piven). The real untouched gem in this picture is Toby Kebbell, as Johnny Quid, while some of his scenes don’t really require all that much acting, others that would be downright difficult he performs with ease; when he’s high, he really does seem strung out, when he flips, you believe he’s a real psycho, and the hardest of all, when he’s crying and sad (or pretending to be) you actually feel sorry for him.
In the end, RocknRolla, is a decent film (miles better than Revolver), one that will make you smile, give you a good dose of action and the typical tough cockney bravado that you expect from the genre. The plot whilst appearing confusing, is easy enough to follow, and well shown, but by the end, your left with a resounding ‘is that it’ feeling as it never really seems to take off; but then again, Ritchie is planning to turn this into a trilogy, and if this is simply the first act then the rest should surely be worth a look. RocknRolla is worth a look in its own right, and should entertain any fan of the British crime genre, but would probably have faired better if I didn’t hold Lock, Stock and Snatch in such high regard.
Picture:
RocknRolla is presented in beautiful, and it is beautiful, 1080p quality and doesn’t disappoint. Blacks are bold and deep, and look especially good next to the heightened and stylised colour palette selected for the film. It’s obvious that a good deal of enhancement took place as far as colour is concerned, but it was done so well that you will be hard pressed to figure out what is real and what’s been artificially altered. There are a couple of points where grain rears its ugly head and tiny fluctuations in contrast levels, but you really have to look for them. Granted there have been better transfers than this, but not many, and anyone who is watching the film instead of simply examining the picture should certainly be impressed.
Audio:
Musically RocknRolla lacks the commerciality of Lock, Stock and Snatch, instead, containing a much more subtle soundtrack that whilst different from earlier ones, works extremely well. Music plays a large part in flashback scenes, but for the most part goes unnoticed, but where the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack truly shines is concerning the effects; it’s by no means a film that will test the limits of your speakers throughout, as rear channels and the woofer remain largely silent (aside from the odd bit of background noise), but what that means is that when the action does kick off you really know about it. Sound here (unlike most transfers) is actually a part of the film, not simply an added effect, and every little nuance is directed from the right angle, with the right sound and employed at the right time. I was thoroughly impressed with this soundtrack as it fits the world completely, not one to test your set-up with, but one that works exceptionally well for the film.
Extras:
Additional scene: Will You Put the Cigarette Out
An amusing little scene, that is less story progressing and more of a mild comedic sketch, hence why it was cut. It takes place before the main robbery and basically consists of the Wild Bunch joking around with One Two who’s running on a treadmill and annoyed at another bloke smoking, hence the name of the scene.
Blokes, Birds and Backhanders: Inside RocknRolla (HD)
A 15 minute behind the scenes featurette, that flies by. It contains all the usual cast and crew interviews, some shots showing how scenes were constructed, discussions of the films metaphors and the evolution of London. Only problem with this extra is that it is too short, and doesn’t delve into making/shooting of the main robbery scene as much as I’d have liked.
Guy’s Town: The Director reflects on his fascination with the ever-evolving London (HD)
Despite the name, this isn’t just a conversation with Guy Ritchie, there’s interviews with Thandie Newton, Tom Wilkinson, Gerard Butler and crew members all discussing locations, and how London has changed over the years. The sections on locations such as Battersea Power Station and Canary Wharf are interesting, yet the feature is a little redundant as most of the clips are shown in the Blokes, Birds and Backhanders feature.
In addition there’s the regular commentary provided here by Guy Ritchie and Mark Strong, and a free digital copy of the film for download. Here I can’t really comment on either as I’m generally not one for commentaries, and digital copies don’t interest me as they appeal more to people that watch films on there ipods, but those people will be disappointed, as strangely the digital copy is not itunes or ipod compatible.
The Bottom Line:
RocknRolla is surely worth a watch, it’s a very good London crime film in its own right; just don’t go into it hoping for another Lock, Stock/Snatch. Picture and sound quality are both excellent making the extra three pound for the Blu-ray well spent. The extras are nothing special, just a couple of shorts tacked on because that’s what customers expect nowadays, but that should hardly stop you from watching the film, and I recommend you do watch it, just don’t expect a miracle.
