Review of RocknRolla (2008) by Anthony — 10 Jul 2009

There's not much new here. Sure, as a film alone it's not bad. There's some cool scenes and funny moments. The style and soundtrack make it all seem very exciting. However, if you've seen any of Mr Ritchie's previous films or the the great movie, Layer Cake, then this just seems jaded.

In terms of the plot and characters, you can actually see where he's just lifted existing material (Johnny Quidd is the same as Mickey in Snatch; Lenny is like Bricktop and the bad guy in Layer Cake.

.. I could go on. ) This would not be so bad if it was improving on the earlier films but it isn't. If anything, Ritchie's just getting sloppier. There's rehashed dialogue and a couple of story lines that seem very unnecessary and lack any real conclusion.

So overall, this is worth a watch if you fancy some mindless entertainment and liked his earlier work... but don't bother if you're looking for something new.