Review: RocknRolla

What d'you think we are? Gangsters?

RocknRolla: it truly is tough for me to put in words what I felt as I walked out of that theater. It surely wasn’t a disappointment, and yet, something felt… off. Perhaps I should just start off by saying, RocknRolla is not Snatch! Nor is it Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Although his latest foray in London's criminal underworld has been dubbed a “return to form” for writer/director Guy Ritchie, I can assure you, it is quite a different animal altogether.

Don’t take that the wrong way though; RocknRolla has many of the stylistic quirks and narrative structuring that made Snatch and Lock, Stock so good. RocknRolla’s plot is undoubtedly twisty and turny, its cast is chock full of memorable and eccentric characters, its soundtrack picked with impeccable taste, and its dialogue and editing is snappy and clever.

But here’s where my opinion of the film gets a little hazy. Sure the plot twists its way through a series of especially entertaining events, but it doesn’t actually end up anywhere of note. Snatch’s adrenaline-filled climax was the result of an entire film’s worth of setup. RocknRolla seems content to flow from scene to scene without actually adding anything that pays off in the climax. Ritchie’s choice in this formatting proves to deliver an interesting result. While its climax is nowhere near a Shyamalan-esque twisty-ness as it seems to think it is and it’s ending ends up being somewhat unsatisfying; it allowed Ritchie the freedom to craft some truly memorable scenes (I’d see the movie again just to watch the Russian militants’ chase).

Another hazy bit is RocknRolla’s cast, and again I am conflicted. Gerard Butler and Thandie Newton’s chemistry is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the film and Toby Kebbell proves to be an amazing dark comedian as the drugged-addled rockstar Johnny Quid. However the star of the show for me was Mark Strong as Archie- right hand man to the main “antagonist” of the film- who not only narrates the affair, but steals the show in a good number of the scenes he’s in.

However, these characters are the exception to the rule. RocknRolla’s cast is filled with a superfluous number of side characters who, while initially interesting, wind up burdening the narrative with unnecessary details. You might try to excuse this, thinking to yourself that one of the most entertaining things about Ritchie’s films are the unique and unforgettable side characters that populate the screen. Unfortunately, in RocknRolla’s case, they really don’t seem to do anything more than to make the story significantly more difficult to follow.

Overall, RocknRolla is a slightly confusing albeit entertaining tromp through Ritchie’s always unique take on London’s mob scene. It’s a fun film with flashes of pure brilliance and in my opinion, an excellent return to prime filmmaking for Guy Ritchie. While he certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel, Ritchie takes risks with mixed results. If you go in expecting Snatch or Lock, Stock you will be disappointed. I highly recommend seeing this film; go in with an open mind, enjoy the ride and maybe you’ll find out… what's a RocknRolla?