RocknRolla
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RocknRolla
Plot
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels director Guy Ritchie heads back to the London underworld for this hyperkinetic crime comedy concerning a shady land deal that leaves every schemer in the city determined to get rich or die trying. When a Russian mobster orchestrates a lucrative real estate scam, every criminal in London wants a piece of the action. Greed is the universal language, and everyone from unrelenting crime boss Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson) to street-smart criminal One Two (Gerard Butler), corrupt accountant Stella (Thandie Newton), and unpredictable punk rocker Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell) seem to speak it fluently. As the bullets start to fly and the double crosses multiply, there's no telling who will walk away with the fortune after the gun smoke has cleared. Jeremy Piven, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, and Quantum of Solace Bond girl Gemma Arterton co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, RoviReview
Nearly a decade after proving that lightning could indeed strike twice with Snatch -- his giddy, reputation-cementing follow-up to the landmark Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels -- it would seem that Guy Ritchie is finally starting to grow up. Sure, he's still got a good pint of piss in him, but in the wake of such box-office disasters as Swept Away and Revolver, he seems to finally understand that sometimes it pays to exercise a bit of restraint. In the past, the frantic, highly stylized credit sequence that opens RocknRolla would have been indicative of the rest of the movie, and Ritchie would probably have attempted to maintain that manic energy even as the actual story got under way. This tactic can easily backfire when not executed with Ritchie's own level of meticulous skill, but here, the director impresses us in a new way. By subsequently reining in his instincts to dazzle and instead simply allowing the story to get under way, Ritchie lets the audience get acquainted with the characters on their own terms, instead of simply overwhelming viewers with overblown, comic book-style archetypes. The result is a bit of a trade-off, because along with the style, Ritchie's outrageous sense of humor has also been substantially toned down. But while a few more laughs certainly would have benefited a film that favors quirky exchanges over full-blown action, there's still enough playfulness to keep the film from getting bogged down or boring -- by a long shot.As with the majority of Ritchie's most popular films, the actual plot is somewhat secondary to the manner in which it unfolds. At the center of RocknRolla is a shady land deal being brokered between powerful British gangster Lenny Cole (the compulsively watchable Tom Wilkinson) and his equally fearsome Russian counterpart, Uri (Karel Roden), an enormously wealthy London newcomer looking to cash in on the city's rapidly rising property values. Of course, in order to make such a deal happen, a substantial amount of cash will have to change hands -- a factor that leaves both of the high rollers susceptible to the scheming of one exceptionally creative underworld bookkeeper (Thandie Newton) and a resourceful gang of fearless street criminals known as "The Wild Bunch." Chief among this daring criminal collective is the handsome One Two (Gerard Butler), his best mate, Handsome Bob (Tom Hardy), and their trusted felonious friend Mumbles (Idris Elba). With his tenuous partnership with Lenny promising to make both men even more wealthy and powerful than they already are, Uri attempts to sweeten the deal by loaning his new business associate the "lucky painting" that has helped him through some complicated deals, but turns out to be the antithesis of its moniker when it goes missing from Lenny's office and the deal goes south. Meanwhile, junkie rock star Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell) may hold the key to locating the painting -- if anyone could actually track him down to inquire about it. The papers have all been rife with stories of Johnny's recent death in a tragic boating accident, though no one who knows the volatile rocker is likely to believe such reports until presented with an actual corpse to back them up. As the Wild Bunch live up to their name by ripping off the wealthiest thugs in the city twice over, Lenny's grip on power begins to slip, and Uri becomes determined to track down his missing painting even if it means killing half the criminals in the London underworld.
The fun of RocknRolla isn't so much in attempting to sort out all the complex details as they unfold at a typically rapid-fire Ritchie pace, but rather sitting back and enjoying the endless series of double-crosses, close calls, and playful interactions among the colorful cast of characters. Even more so than with Ritchie's previous work, those characters actually display a trace amount of depth, rather than simply delivering a series of clever one-liners. It seems to be as much a testament to Ritchie's faith in those characters as it is in his growth as a filmmaker; a revelatory scene between One Two and Handsome Bob early on pays off later down the line when we learn the actual depth of their longtime friendship, and a scene in which a strung-out Johnny Quid espouses the existential values of a simple pack of cigarettes hints that he even has more going on upstairs than the man who seems to control the entire city. Heady moments notwithstanding, when the action gets rolling during a late-film heist gone hilariously awry, there's little doubt that the man who delivered two of the most entertaining British gangster flicks of the last decade is still capable of marrying violence with humor in a way that few filmmakers can. When Ritchie is inspired, the results can be genuinely entertaining, and if RocknRolla is to be trusted, the director is relying less on his old bag of tricks and more on his expanding abilities as a storyteller -- not just a story stylist. Here's to hoping that, at least in Ritchie's case, maturity and inspiration aren't mutually exclusive. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Cast
- Gerard Butler - One Two
- Tom Wilkinson - Lenny Cole
- Thandie Newton - Stella
- Mark Strong - Archy
- Idris Elba - Mumbles
Credit
Andy Nicholson - Art Director, Lauren Meek - Associate Producer, Reg Poerscout-Edgerton - Casting, Suzie Hartman - Costume Designer, Guy Ritchie - Director, James Herbert - Editor, Steve Richards - Executive Producer, Navid McIlhargey - Executive Producer, Steve Isles - Composer (Music Score), Ian Neil - Musical Direction/Supervision, Richard Bridgland - Production Designer, David Higgs - Cinematographer, Steve Clark-Hall - Producer, Joel Silver - Producer, Guy Ritchie - Producer, Susan Downey - Producer, Guy Ritchie - Screenwriter| Rocking the Foundations (1985 Film), Rocking the Boat: A Musical Conversation and Journey (2006 Film) | |
| Rocko's Modern Life: Machine Madness (1996 Film), Rocko's Modern Life: Modern Love (1998 Film) |
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RocknRolla
| RocknRolla | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Guy Ritchie |
| Produced by | Steve Clark-Hall Susan Downey Guy Ritchie Joel Silver |
| Written by | Guy Ritchie |
| Narrated by | Mark Strong |
| Starring | Gerard Butler Tom Wilkinson Mark Strong Toby Kebbell Tom Hardy Idris Elba Karel Roden Thandie Newton Ludacris |
| Music by | Steve Isles |
| Cinematography | David Higgs |
| Editing by | James Herbert |
| Studio | Dark Castle Entertainment Toff Guy Films StudioCanal[1] |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 114 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom ‹See Tfd› France |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18,000,000[2] |
| Box office | $25,739,015[3] |
RocknRolla is a 2008 British crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Karel Roden, and Thandie Newton. It was released on 5 September 2008 in the UK, hitting #1 in the UK box office in its first week of release.[4]
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Contents
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Plot
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This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (March 2011) |
In London, the British mob boss Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson) rules the growing real estate business using a corrupt Councillor (Jimi Mistry) for the bureaucratic services and his henchman Archy (Mark Strong) for the dirty work. The main characters are introduced in Archy's opening voiceover (who acts as the narrator). A billionaire Russian businessman, Uri Omovich (Karel Roden), plans a crooked land deal, and London's crooks all want a piece of it. Other key players include the underhand accountant Stella (Thandie Newton) and ambitious small-time crook One-Two (Gerard Butler) leading a group called the "Wild Bunch" which includes Mumbles (Idris Elba) and Handsome Bob (Tom Hardy) .
Uri Omovich meets Lenny for a real estate business and Lenny charges seven-million Euros for the deal; Uri accepts, calls his accountant Stella to launder the necessary funds and lends his lucky painting to Lenny to bring success and fortune to their business. Stella, however, double-crosses Uri and tips off The Wild Bunch to steal the money, while, at the same time, the lucky painting is stolen from Lenny's wall by his "junkie" rocker stepson Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell).
In an attempt to find Johnny, Lenny and Archy enlist his record producers Mickey (Ludacris) and Roman (Jeremy Piven) to help track him down. In order to gain leverage over them, Cole's men make it clear that their concerts and clubs will be shut down if they do not comply.
Meanwhile, after Uri's money is violently stolen by the Wild bunch a second time from a pair of Russian bodyguards, his assistant Victor begins to suspect that it's Lenny who's been stealing the money and purposely keeping Uri's painting from him. This theory enrages Uri, who lures Lenny to a private golf game and has his legs broken, warning him to return his painting without delay.
Coincidentally, Cookie buys Uri's lucky painting from some crackheads who had just stolen it from Johnny's hideout. Cookie then gives the painting to One-Two, who, in turn, offers the painting to Stella (after a sexual encounter) as a token of appreciation for the work she has provided the gang. After Stella leaves his flat, One-Two is assaulted by Uri's henchmen and is about to be subjected to torture but is rescued, and then kidnapped, by Archy who had come to his home upon finding out One-Two was involved in stealing Uri's money.
Uri makes a decision regarding Stella, whom he has been smitten with for a long time. He arrives at Stella's house to seal their arrangements while also asking her to marry him, but spots his lucky painting in Stella's living room. On being asked how long she's had it, Stella says she's had it for years, not knowing it's actually his. It is implied that she is murdered.
Meanwhile, Archy brings Johnny, the Wild Bunch, Mickey, and Roman to Lenny's warehouse, where Johnny begins to verbally provoke his crippled stepfather. Just as Johnny is about to reveal a damning truth about Lenny in front of everyone, Lenny shoots him in the stomach. Lenny then orders that Johnny, Roman, and Mickey be taken downstairs and executed. He angrily demands that the Wild Bunch tell him where Uri's money is. Handsome Bob calls out to Archy and offers the documents in his jacket pocket, confirming what Johnny had been about to reveal: that the "rat" in the ranks, codenamed "Sidney Shaw", was Lenny all along. Lenny arranged with the police to routinely throw many of his associates in prison for years at a time in order to secure his own freedom and sow fear among his gang. One-Two, Mumbles, and even Archy were among the people Lenny has informed on over the years. With the information brought to light, Archy orders Lenny's men to free the Wild Bunch and angrily oversees Lenny's execution by drowning.
Meanwhile, in the lift on their way to their deaths, Johnny graphically explains to Mickey and Roman how they will be executed. His description unnerves the man who's to execute the 3 men, prompting him to make a move prematurely. Having also already anticipated this move, Johnny warns Mickey and Roman to intervene and kill their would-be executioner. Johnny shoots two more men waiting at the top of the lift. They overcome the last of the gangsters (with the help of the Wild Bunch) and escape.
Later, Archy picks up a rehabilitated, but still eccentric, Johnny Quid from the hospital. Archy gives Uri's lucky painting to Johnny as a peace offering and "welcome home present", which Johnny happily accepts. Archy reveals to Johnny that obtaining the painting "cost a very wealthy Russian an arm and a leg". The film closes with Johnny proclaiming that, with his newfound freedom from addiction and his father, he will do what he couldn't before: "become a real RocknRolla". The end credits suggest there will be a sequel titled "The Real RocknRolla".
Cast
- Mark Strong as Archy, Lenny Cole's right hand man and the film's narrator.
- Tom Wilkinson as Lenny Cole, a head mobster part of London's declining old school mob regime.
- Toby Kebbell as Johnny Quid, a musician and Lenny's estranged, drug-addicted stepson. It is implied that he faked his own death after anticipating that the news of his demise would cause his music sales to go up.
- Gerard Butler as One-Two, a Scottish mobster who is a member of The Wild Bunch.
- Tom Hardy as Handsome Bob, a member of The Wild Bunch who is a closeted homosexual and has a semi-secret crush on One Two.[5]
- Idris Elba as Mumbles, One-Two's partner and a member of The Wild Bunch.
- Karel Roden as the Russian business oligarch Uri Omovich, who is based on Roman Abramovich.
- Thandie Newton as Stella, Uri's accountant and One-Two's love interest.
- Dragan Mićanović as Victor, Omovich's right hand man
- Matt King as Cookie
- Geoff Bell as Fred
- Ludacris as Mickey
- Gemma Arterton as June.[6]
- Jeremy Piven as Roman
- Jimi Mistry as The Councillor
- Robert Stone as The Nightclub Bouncer
- Jamie Campbell Bower as Rocker[7]
A scheduling conflict prevented director Guy Ritchie from casting actor Jason Statham, who had appeared in three of his previous films.[8]
Production
In May 2007, director Guy Ritchie announced the production of RocknRolla, a film with a similar theme to two of his previous films, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000). RocknRolla, written by Ritchie, was produced by Joel Silver's Dark Castle Entertainment, Ritchie's own company, Toff Guy Films, French company StudioCanal[1] and distributed by Warner Bros..[9] The following June, Ritchie hired the cast for RocknRolla, and filming began on location in London on 19 June 2007.[10]
Reception
Critical response
Critical reaction to the film has been mixed to positive, with 59% positive out of 134 reviews on the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.[11] The website Metacritic, which compiles and then aggregates major film critics' reviews, gave the film a 53 out of 100, which is categorized as having mixed or average reviews.[12]
Chris Tilly of IGN UK gave the film a positive review with four out of five stars, saying "He's hardly re-inventing the wheel with this movie, but RocknRolla is nonetheless a comedy thriller that is every bit as accomplished as his early work, and without doubt a witty, adrenalin-fuelled blast from start to finish."[13] Roger Ebert gave the film three stars, stating that "It never slows down enough to be really good, and never speeds up enough to be the Bourne Mortgage Crisis, but there's one thing for sure: British actors love playing gangsters as much as American actors love playing cowboys, and it's always nice to see people having fun."[14]
Box office
The film hit #1 at the UK box office in its first week of release.[4]
The film took a total gross of US $25,739,015 worldwide, compared to US $83,000,000 for Snatch, seeing a modest return on the film's US$18,000,000 budget.[3]
Soundtrack
| RocknRolla | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Soundtrack album by Various artists | ||||
| Released | 30 September 2008 | |||
| Genre | Rock Reggae Garage rock Funk Indie rock Hard rock Latin Beat |
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| Label | Varese Sarabande | |||
| Guy Ritchie film soundtracks chronology | ||||
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- United Kingdom edition
- "Dialogue Clip: People Ask the Question" - Mark Strong
- "I'm a Man" - Black Strobe
- "Have Love, Will Travel" - The Sonics
- "Dialogue Clip: No School Like the Old School" - Various Artists
- "Bankrobber" - The Clash
- "The Trip" - Kim Fowley
- "Dialogue Clip: Slap Him!" - Various Artists
- "Ruskies" - Steve Isles
- "Outlaw" - War
- "Waiting for a Train" - Flash and the Pan
- "Dialogue Clip: Junkies" - Various Artists
- "Rock & Roll Queen" - The Subways
- "The Gun" - Lou Reed
- "The Stomp" - The Hives
- "We Had Love" - The Scientists
- "Dialogue Clip: Sausage & Beans" - Various Artists
- "Mirror in the Bathroom" - The Beat
- "Funnel of Love" - Wanda Jackson
- "Such a Fool" - 22-20s
- "Dopilsya" - EX SEKTOR GAZA
- "Negra Leono" - Miguelito Valdés
Sequels
Thandie Newton revealed Guy Ritchie stated he hopes to extend RocknRolla into a trilogy if the film receives enough positive attention.[15] At the end of the film there is a title card stating "Johnny, Archy and the Wild Bunch will be back in The Real RocknRolla". According to the audio commentary, the second film has been written and is awaiting studio approval.
In a 2011 interview, promoting Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, when asked about a possible 'RocknRolla' sequel, Ritchie said "You know, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it! I’ve written a script, I think it’s a great script, and Joel (Silver) wants to pay for me to do it. But up until now we haven’t had the time to do it. It’s sitting there and we’d all like to do it, it’s just a question of when we’re going to fit it in. So we’ll wait and see." He also mentioned that as long as Warner Bros. keep throwing him "big movies like the Sherlock Holmes films and The Man from UNCLE, then it may not be happening soon."[16]
References
- ^ a b http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032755/companycredits
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032755/business
- ^ a b "RocknRolla (2008)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=rocknrolla.htm. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ a b "UK Box Office: 5–7 September 2008". UK Film Council. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5jOzAvdfE. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
- ^ Dempster, Sarah (22 September 2007). "Tom Hardy tastes the hard life". The Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5jOzJhzTp. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Charlotte (2 January 2008). "Big in 2008". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5jOzjk62f. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
- ^ Maher, Kevin (19 January 2008). "Sweeney's fresh blood". The Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5jOztLOyF. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
- ^ Hellard, Peta (18 October 2007). "Hard luck story for Jason Statham". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5jP003tGc. Retrieved 22 November 2007.
- ^ Kit, Borys (14 May 2007). "Ritchie will rock caper pic". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i4d0064a82119378ddfae58f1322e8534. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
- ^ "Five plugged in for Ritchie's 'RocknRolla'". The Hollywood Reporter. 26 June 2007. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003603604. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
- ^ "RocknRolla (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rocknrolla/. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^ "RocknRolla Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/rocknrolla. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^ Tilly, Chris (2 September 2008). "RocknRolla UK Review". IGN UK. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5jO5upEaQ. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (29 October 2008). "RocknRolla Review". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5jO66bHgi. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^ Adler, Shawn (24 March 2008). "Breaking: Guy Ritchie Plans 'RocknRolla' Trilogy With Thandie Newton". MTV Movies Blog. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5jP0SH2Rr. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
- ^ http://www.slashfilm.com/sequel-bits-rocknrolla-sequel-scripted/
External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: RocknRolla |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: RocknRolla |
- Official website
- RocknRolla at the Internet Movie Database
- RocknRolla at AllRovi
- RocknRolla at Box Office Mojo
- RocknRolla at Rotten Tomatoes
| Preceded by Tropic Thunder |
Number-one DVDs of 2009 (UK) 8 February |
Succeeded by Taken |
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