I was really looking forward to the latest Guy Ritchie film. I cannot claim to be the biggest fan of the guy, although both Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch are both quite good. I have not seen Swept Away, Revolver or any of his other works. So, there I went, into the darkened theater filled with what seemed to be like-minded individuals.
The deeper into the film we all got, one could begin to get a sense of what the audience was thinking; you could hear the enthusiasm bubble over in a few areas as some audience members gave voice to their approval. Then there was me. Enjoying myself, sure, but not as much as I had expected; not as much as the brave souls who wanted us all to be aware of their enjoyment.
RocknRolla is Guy Ritchie's return to the multi-leveled, Brit gangster genre in which he made his name. Although I have not seen his other recent films, which have not been received all that well by the critical community, it does seem that this is Ritchie's big return to the American cineplex. I guess the million dollar question is whether the film is worth seeing. The answer is a decidedly non-committal yes and no.
The plot is a multi-threaded affair that involves a bit of old school versus new school gangster battle with millions of dollars in real estate money at stake. Russians are moving in on London territory and need the help of local kingpin Lenny (Tom Wilkinson). He is needed to grease the local palms in order to get the necessary development deals in place.
This also brings in the Russians' accountant, Stella (Thandie Newton), to make the necessary millions disappear from the books. This leads to Stella playing both sides, involving the Wild Bunch. The Wild Bunch is a group of lower level hoods led by One Two (Gerard Butler) and Mumbles (Idris Elba).
Not to be left out, there is also the case of a valuable painting lent by Uri, the Russian boss, to Lenny. This brings in rocker Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbel) and his managers, played by Jeremy Piven and Chris Bridges.
All of these threads, the land acquisition, development deals, stolen money, missing painting, weave together into a finale that concludes the story but promises a return in a sequel. Now, whether or not that sequel gets made is up in the air, but I am certainly interested in the possibility.
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