Rocknrolla Review

After a long break from the action film genre Guy Ritchie is back with the thrill packed RocknRolla, a fast, loose, smart and funny treat for loyal Ritchie fans who have been waiting for him to return to his movie making roots. RocknRolla brings back the cunning London criminals, the shady transactions, and the intricate story lines that have become Ritchie's signature (and most successful) style.

RocknRolla is jam-packed with lively criminals and amusingly crazy schemes, which the director and his editor offer up at breakneck speeds. In a battle over real estate and millions in potential profits, the plot line tells an overlapping story following the trail of land, money and a lucky piece of art. Our narrator, Archie (Mark Strong), works for Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson), a London kingpin who cons charming gangsters One Two (Gerard Butler) and Mumbles (Idris Elba) on a semi-lucrative real estate deal. As is usually the case with Ritchie, this deal is only the tip of a an iceberg that involves Russian billionaire Uri Omovich (Karel Roden), his crooked accountant Stella (Thandie Newton), and One Two's loyal crew, the Wild Bunch.

When One Two and Mumbles find a real estate deal that could turn a huge profit for them they buy in and are the first to be trapped into a scheme controlled by Lenny. With his hand in every pocket, Lenny controls each step of the real estate process as he keeps the property floating while he waits for a wealthy bidder. In comes Uri with $7 million and his lucky painting to seal the deal. When the painting is stolen shortly afterwards, the story pulls in a variety of complicated characters. Accountant Stella, who likes a little danger when she isn't at her day job, sets up a major theft with One Two. Handsome Bob (Tom Hardy) admits to a crush on his shocked friend. Archie combines old school mob tactics with new school tricks. And Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell), a rock star and Lenny's stepson, who is presumed dead but is very much alive, holds a very important secret.

With RocknRolla, Ritchie has returned to writing lyrical dialogue delivered by an extremely polished cast. Butler is believably at home in Ritchie's criminal world, Newton manages to be more than eye candy, and Kebbell is an exciting treat. Near the end of the film, you start to feel as though you might miss these original characters. Actually, so does Ritchie. A title card dropped before the credits promises more adventures with Archie, Johnny, and the Wild Bunch.