Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
When a Russian mobster sets up a real estate scam that generates millions of pounds, various members of London's criminal underworld pursue their share of the fortune. Various shady characters, including Mr One-Two, Stella the accountant, and Johnny Quid, a druggie rock-star, try to claim their slice.
RocknRolla is a solid but mid-tier Guy Ritchie crime caper. The ensemble plotting is entertaining and energetic, with multiple overlapping schemes converging in classic Ritchie fashion, but it feels like a retread of Lock Stock and Snatch rather than a meaningful evolution. The acting is game and charismatic across the board — Idris Elba, Tom Wilkinson, and Mark Strong all deliver — but no single performance is truly revelatory. Ritchie's kinetic London cinematography is stylish and competent without breaking new ground. Novelty suffers most: this is essentially Ritchie recycling his own formula, and despite the rock-and-roll veneer, it offers little that wasn't done better in his earlier work. The ending sets up a sequel that never came, which is both a structural curiosity and a slight narrative frustration, though the ride getting there is fun enough.