| RocknRolla | |
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| Directed by | Guy Ritchie |
| Written by | Guy Ritchie |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | David Higgs |
| Edited by | James Herbert |
| Music by | Steve Isles |
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Running time | 114 minutes |
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| Budget | $18 million[2] |
| Box office | $25 million[1] |
RocknRolla is a 2008crime comedy film written and directed byGuy Ritchie, featuring anensemble cast that includesGerard Butler,Tom Wilkinson,Thandiwe Newton,Mark Strong,Idris Elba,Tom Hardy,Toby Kebbell,Jeremy Piven andLudacris. It was released in the United Kingdom on 5 September 2008, reaching number one in the UK box office in its first week of release.[3] The film received mixed reviews from critics.
In London, mob boss Lenny Cole rules the ever-growingreal estate business, using a corruptcouncillor for bureaucratic fixing, and his right-hand man Archy for the dirty side of things. A billionaire Russian businessman, Uri Omovich, plans a fixed land deal, and London's crooks all seem to want a piece of it — particularly Uri's underhandedaccountant Stella, and a gang called "The Wild Bunch" led by small-time crook "One-Two", his partner "Mumbles", and their driver "Handsome Bob".
Uri agrees to Lenny's price of €7,000,000 forbribing the council, and as a sign of trust, lends him his "lucky painting". Yet when Uri arranges for Stella to move the funds, she double-crosses him and hires the Wild Bunch to steal the money. Additionally, Lenny's estranged and drug-addicted stepson Johnny Quid steals the painting from Lenny's office after faking his own death. Lenny and Archy then coerce Johnny's formertalent managers Mickey and Roman into tracking down Johnny. In a subplot, Handsome Bob gets close to Stella's gay husband, a lawyer who has information on a longtime unknowninformant in their criminal circle, and asks One-Two for a single dance before Bob goes to prison after the informant exposed him.
Uri tasks Stella once more with covertly siphoning the necessary payoff from his holdings, despite his growing suspicion of her. Yet when his moneymen are once again robbed by the Wild Bunch, his assistant Victor convinces him that Lenny is likely to be behind the robberies, and is also purposely keeping Uri's lucky painting from him. Uri and Victor then invite Lenny to a private golf game, where Victor beats him with a golf club, finishing by breaking Lenny's leg as a warning to return his painting.
Wild Bunch friend Cookie happens to buy the painting from a couple ofcrackheads who stole it from Johnny's hideout. Cookie then gives the painting to One-Two, who in turn offers it to Stella as a token of appreciation after a sexual encounter. After Stella leaves his flat, One-Two is surprised by Uri'shenchmen but is rescued, and subsequently kidnapped, by Archy and his goons, who had come looking for Uri's money.
Uri wants to marry Stella, whom he has long admired. He goes to Stella's house to propose, but he then spots the painting. Stella lies and says she has had it for years. Uri, enraged by Stella's betrayal, orders Victor to kill her.
Archy brings Johnny, Roman, Mickey and the Wild Bunch to Lenny'swarehouse where Lenny orders Johnny and the Wild Bunch executed. Handsome Bob offers the legal documents concerning the informant in his pocket to Archy. Archy recognizes thepseudonym used on documents, "Sidney Shaw", as belonging to Lenny. Lenny had arranged with the police to routinely lock up many criminal associates (including Archy) for years at a time to ensure his own freedom and while also enhancing his own standing in the criminal underworld. Archy orders Lenny's men to free the Wild Bunch and has Lenny drowned and fed tocrayfish.
In the elevator, Johnny explains to Roman and Mickey that they will also be killed to leave no witnesses, and graphically explains the manner of their executions. His description unnerves the man tasked to execute the trio, prompting him to act prematurely. Having already anticipated this move, Johnny warns Mickey and Roman to intervene and kill their would-be executioner. Johnny shoots two more men waiting at the top of the elevator and with help from the Wild Bunch, they escape the last of Archy's men.
Later, Archy picks up Johnny fromrehab and gives him Uri's lucky painting as a welcome home present, remarking that obtaining the painting "cost a very wealthy Russian an arm and a leg". Johnny proclaims that, with his new-found freedom from addiction and his stepfather, he will do what he could not do before: "become a real RocknRolla".
In a post-credit scene, One-Two accedes to Handsome Bob's request to dance with him.
In addition to the film's main cast, its supporting cast featuresJimi Mistry as the Councillor,Matt King as Cookie,Dragan Mićanović as Victor (Omovich's right-hand man),David Bark-Jones as Bertie (Stella's gay husband who works as a criminal lawyer),Geoff Bell as Fred the Head,Gemma Arterton as June,[4]Nonso Anozie as Tank,David Leon as Malcolm,Bronson Webb as Paul,Michael Ryan as Pete,Jamie Campbell Bower as Rocker,[5]Tiffany Mulheron as Jackie, and Robert Stone as thenightclubbouncer. A scheduling conflict prevented director Guy Ritchie from casting actorJason Statham, who had appeared inthree of hispreviousfilms.[6]
In May 2007, director Guy Ritchie announced the production ofRocknRolla, to be produced by Ritchie's own company, Toff Guy Films,Joel Silver'sDark Castle Entertainment, and French companyStudioCanal, with distribution byWarner Bros.[7] The following June, Ritchie hired the cast forRocknRolla, and filming began on location in London on 19 June 2007.[8] Two scenes were filmed atStoke Park, Buckinghamshire: the opening scene on the grass tennis courts, and the round of golf which takes place on the 21st green with the clubhouse in the background.[9]
During post-production, producerJoel Silver, screened the film to several studios, includingLionsgate andSony Pictures.[10]Warner Bros. handled distribution for the film, and it was released theatrically on 5 September 2008 in the U.K. and 10 October 2008 in the U.S.
Critical reaction to the film has been mixed, with a 60% rating out of 147 reviews on the film review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 5.98/10. The critical consensus states: "Mixed reviews for Guy Ritchie's return to his London-based cockney wideboy gangster movie roots, but most agree, it's a step in the right direction following two major turkeys."[11] The websiteMetacritic, which compiles and then aggregates major film critics' reviews, gave the film a 53 out of 100, which is categorised as having mixed or average reviews.[12] While the film's unoriginal themes were criticised, the script and direction, as well as the performances of Strong, Butler and Kebbell, were praised.
IGN gave the film a positive review with four out of five stars, saying "[Guy Ritchie is] hardly re-inventing the wheel with this movie, butRocknRolla is nonetheless a comedy thriller that is every bit as accomplished as his early work, and without doubt a witty, adrenaline-fuelled blast from start to finish".[13]Roger Ebert gave the film three stars, stating that "It never slows down enough to be really good, and never speeds up enough to be the Bourne Mortgage Crisis, but there's one thing for sure: British actors love playing gangsters as much as American actors love playing cowboys, and it's always nice to see people having fun".[14]
The film hit No. 1 at the UK box office in its first week of release.[3]
The film took a total gross ofUS$25,739,015 worldwide, compared to US$83,000,000 forSnatch (2000), seeing a modest return on the film's US$18,000,000 budget.[2][1]
| RocknRolla | ||||
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| Soundtrack album by Various artists | ||||
| Released | 30 September 2008 | |||
| Genre | Rock,reggae,garage rock,funk,indie rock,hard rock,Latin,beat | |||
| Label | Varese Sarabande | |||
| Guy Ritchie film soundtracks chronology | ||||
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Newton revealed that Ritchie stated that he hopes to extendRocknRolla into atrilogy, in the event that the film receives enough positive attention.[15] At the end of the film there is a title card stating "Johnny, Archy and the Wild Bunch will be back inThe Real RocknRolla". According to both theaudio commentary and an interview with Ritchie, the second film has been written and is awaiting studio approval.[16]
In a 2011 interview, promotingSherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, when asked about a possibleRocknRolla sequel, Ritchie said "You know, I've spent a lot of time thinking about it! I've written a script, I think it's a great script, andJoel [Silver] wants to pay for me to do it. But up until now we haven't had the time to do it. It's sitting there and we'd all like to do it, it's just a question of when we're going to fit it in. So we'll wait and see". He also mentioned that as long asWarner Bros. keeps throwing him "big movies like theSherlock Holmes films andThe Man from UNCLE, then it may not be happening soon".[16]
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