Review of RocknRolla (2008) by Tony J — 15 Feb 2010

In my opinion, this is Guy Ritchie's most down-to-earth gangster film to date.

Much like his former producer and counterpart Matthew Vaughn achieved through Layer Cake, Rocknrolla portrays London not as the dark, brooding sea of corruption prostituted in Ritchie's previous gangster flicks but as a fully working, multi-cultural capital where old money is rapidly having to concied to Eastern Europe's nuevo rich.

Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong and even Thandie Newton give enjoyable performances which succeed because they show the characters to be real people rather than the sort of predictable pulp stereotypes found in the likes of Snatch. However, with the exception of unhinged-philosophical rocker Johnny Quid, none of these characters are particularly memorable and still can not hold a candle to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels for sheer characterisation and the cast is too extensive to provide any single character with the same amount of depth.

Regardless, Rocknrolla still stands as a great example of what brought Ritchie to the table in the first place: his ability to mix the gritty with the quirky and come out with something truly masterful.