This being a Guy Ritchie feature, you'd think that there would be some style to fall back on and distract viewers from the story's bewildering nature. Unfortunately, style is a rare commodity to come by in RocknRolla. Aside from the engaging opening credits and a robbery sequence that goes hilariously awry, Ritchie plays things with a straight face. The entire film is bathed in a brown, almost washed-out color scheme, which would fit the film perfectly if it ever got around to utilizing it. Instead, all the characters do is talk circles around each other as if they were part of a high school production of The Sting. The few moments that actually engage one's attention are usually when something's resolved, which also doesn't happen often. It's a shame, since the actors do their darndest to make RocknRolla seem more fun to have made than to watch. Butler fares well as the closest thing to a hero here, Wilkinson lives it up as a perpetually grizzled mobster, and Newton fills the femme fatale role just fine. I also rather liked Body of Lies actor Mark Strong's turn as Archie, Lenny's right hand man, our narrator, and the only character who has the slightest idea of what's going on.
Earlier this year, I blasted another recent Ritchie release, Revolver, for copping a pretentious attitude and presenting a story impossible to understand. RocknRolla is free from that film's uppity mindset, but it has just as impenetrable a premise. It's only so often that you can set a flawed story aside and just enjoy a flick for what it is. But in terms of alternatives to offer, RocknRolla finds itself as barren as Wal-Mart on Black Friday.
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