Rock ‘n Rolla (2009)
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy and Thandie Newton
Ah, Guy Ritchie movies… if nothing else, he is one consistent film maker! I’m not sure if you’ve caught his Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, but his films typically involve numerous cons, a couple of dreadfully stupid wannabe cons, war criminals and their mingling with London gangs, the formula of which results in a bloody shoot-out to top the film’s convoluted story structure. I feel like these earlier Ritchie films were immense successes: I can quote several lines from both Lock Stock and Snatch, which is always a good sign. The action in these films was well done, unique, dare I say it – artistic, and most importantly, the action fit the storyline.
Unfortunately, I feel like RocknRolla missed the mark. Well, let me rephrase that: Ritchie’s latest foray into the Caper genre hit the marks out of habit rather than necessity. A perfect example of a RocknRolla scene composed out of habit is a violent scene (gangster clubbed with a driver on a golf course – ouch) intercut with a smoking, piano playing junkie mouthing words of wisdom. Let me explain something: this scene looked GREAT on screen. The lighting, the piano song, the sound of the beating, the editing of all of this, etc. was technically proficient. But, this artistic scene did very little for the story, dear Reader! Furthermore, I don’t think it’s supportive to the story to introduce this junkie as having little more than a bowl of mush for a brain and then turn him around and make him capable of all sorts of strategic scheming. But, that’s another issue all together…
I’ve probably overwhelmed you with negative energy towards this film, so let me retrace my steps and advise that this is a fun film in some places with downright funny storylines. There is a scene between One Two (that’s a London criminal’s name and he’s played by Gerard Butler) and Handsome Bob (played by Inception’s Tom Hardy), in which Handsome Bob reveals a secret to One Two that becomes a running joke for the rest of the film – that element of the story worked wonderfully. The “chase scene” between One Two, Mumbles, Handsome Bob and a couple of indestructible Chechnyans was genuinely comedic (indestructible war criminals seem to be in all Ritchie films). And the “dance scene” between One Two and the very, very slender Stella was equally comedic. Additionally, all of these scenes helped the story rather than hurt it!
I guess the frustrated tone you’re getting from this entry is attributed to the fact I really like Ritchie’s films. I was confounded by RocknRolla because it was so close to his earlier work! But I wanted to see more robbing and beatings administered by One Two and his gang (particularly the underused Idris Elba – veteran of HBO’s The Wire), and much less of Johnny, the junkie lead singer. In the end, if you enjoy Guy Ritchie movies, I don’t think you’ll count the two hours spent watching RocknRolla as wasted by any means.
Final Note: I thought I’d clarify the title of this entry for you. I watched this film on DVD with my brudder Drew in San Antonio over the weekend while we were recovering from an “adventurous evening”. One of the more frustrating characters to follow in the film is Johnny, the junkie lead singer. At one point during our viewing, I asked Drew, “Did you understand what Johnny said just then”? And he replied, “No, and I wish I did!” About thirty minutes later I asked him the same question again and this time he said, “No. And I don’t care.”