Review of RocknRolla (2008) by Matthew K — 07 Aug 2013

Seen it many times, loved it every single time. It's nice to see a truly British film, although when it comes to money it gets tricky, Warner Bros. and all, but British in terms of cast and direction, good enough for me.

I love a film that has an ensemble cast, and more importantly has a director skilled enough to actually use them well, a skill which Ritchie definitely has with his past experience, in which he is practically a genre unto himself. When you think of the Modern Brit-Gangster, you will probably think of Snatch, and Lock Stock, well, I would anyway. Lately Guy Ritchie is a genre unto himself in this field, not quite on the level of Hitchcock and the thriller, but there's still time. All of the characters under his direction just seem to fit together, all a bunch of Cockney hard nuts, but hard nuts with a soft, and funny core. The first five minutes of the film provides us with a brilliant exposition, laying out all of the key groups of characters and setting out the story. Something which is vital in a story so ambitious and covering so much. Sticking with the mould he used for Lock Stock and Snatch.

I'd never heard of, or seen Mark Strong before this film. I know he'd been in pretty big films before, but I think this was one of his first in a leading role. Now I may be totally wrong, but he was absolutely brilliant regardless. The narrator and the go to guy for all of the gangsters, a guy with a Cockney charm that makes him impossible not to like, although he does have a mean streak in him, which understandably you need to have as a gangster.

Working opposite him is the trio of Gerard Butler, Idris Elba, and Tom Hardy. I would be hard pressed to think of a better trio to play these characters. They're brilliant in their owns right and they just work together as the Wild Bunch. It's strange to see how Tom Hardy has changed from the rather scrawny Tom Hardy to Bane Tom Hardy, though he's still his same charming self.

The film makes for a nice mixture of comedy and action, but the humour comes naturally from the characters. To be a Cockney gangsters you have to be very sarcastic, it's one of the pre-requisites I've been told. The film is just very fun. It's a lot of fun to watch, and get enveloped in the deep, unfurling story, and it also looks like it was a lot of fun to shoot. One to enjoy from all around it seems!

The most obvious problem with films that undertake quite vast story lines, with interweaving plot threads, many key characters and crossovers galore is that it can get as clear as a murky Beijing morning (It's very smoggy there...). But we always know where we stand within the film, it all works together and fits into place piece by piece with the narrator leading the way. The story isn't dull either, the main story is intriguing, a tale of betrayal, or in Cockney, who's the filthy grass? The two Russian bodyguards provide a nice little side story to keep things interesting, amongst others.

I love the slick style of Ritchie's films, and RocknRolla is no exception, very polished. If there's one thing the man knows how to do, it's make this sort of film. Films are a much more pleasurable experience when they look good, I find.

One final point about this film, a rather strange one I might add, was the inter title just after Johnny and Archy are reunited, just before the credits. Never before have I seen a sequel so cockily forecasted. Especially as it hasn't emerged... Saying that, it would be nice to see the sequel, what ideas they'd have and where it would go, especially as all of the narrative strands had been sewed up very neatly, a la Hollywood. We wait in anticipation, Guy! Well, at least I do.