Quickcard Review RocknRolla
Directed by: Guy Ritchie Cast: Gerald Butler, Mark Strong, Tom Wilkinson, Toby Kebbell, Idris Elba, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Jeremey Piven, Thandie Newton Running Time: 1 hr 55 mins Rating: R
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Plot: The underworld of London gets blown up (figuratively) in the latest Ritchie film. A huge cast of characters are looking for money, a lucky painting, and a rock star.
Who’s It For? If you check the 'yes' box next to liking Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and the film Snatch then here's another one for you. There are moments of sex and violence and tons of foul language to go along with it all. If you saw Ritchie's other films ... and enjoyed them ... sorry, I don't have any sarcastic award to give you for that wasted time. And yes, sometimes you'll wish there were subtitles, but the accents are not as rough as the awesome film Layer Cake. Plus if you love Stringer Bell from "The Wire" then seeing Elba as a British tough guy is a must.
OVERALL
A little too long, way too many characters and a pretty good ending sums up Ritchie's latest bombastic ode to the ugly side of London. Some (like the Piven and Bridges combo) are stuck with nothing to do and no reason to entertain, while others keep us curious for more -- Johnny Quid (Kebbell). There are slightly funny tangents taken with One Two (Butler) and Handsome Bob (Tom Hardy), which had nothing to do with the big picture. Loose ends should have been cleared up, like giving us tiny hints as to what happened to the Uri the Russian (Karel Roden) and Newton. Unless of course there were only hints because of the ending. SEQUEL! Out of no where everything makes perfect sense. The reason we get hints of Johnny Quid is because it's just his beginning. Clearly the most interesting character. If they would have only shaved off half a dozen characters and half an hour then this prequel or 'beginning' story would have me salivating for more.
Final Score: 6/10