8:00 PM, 24th February, 2009
What is director Guy Ritchie's latest London crime caper all about? Well, among other things; old school gangsters, Russian mobsters, small-time crooks, a dead rock star, a lucky painting, crayfish, slow dancing and a bloke named Sidney Shaw. To be honest, if I were to tell you anymore I'd be in danger of giving away all the double-crosses, triple-crosses and hilarious twists that have become a trademark of Ritchie's.
If all that isn't enough to make you want to see RocknRolla, Ritchie has also assembled quite the cast for his latest foray into the London underworld. Gerard Butler is refreshingly hilarious in his role and is such a perfect fit in Ritchie's world that one can only wonder why he hasn't ventured here before. A balding Tom Wilkinson plays crime boss Lenny Cole and if you've seen him play evil, then I don't need to tell you how much fun it is watching him devour the scenery and his co-stars.
There are other big names here, but it's lesser-known actors like relative newcomer Toby Kebbell (as junkie rock star Johnny Quid, faking his own death to boost sales) and seemingly omnipresent chameleon Mark Strong (as Lenny's number two) that seem to be having the most fun with their roles.
All in all, RocknRolla is a very welcome return to form for Guy Ritchie; a cracking, blisteringly-paced 114 minutes of sex, thugs and rock 'n' roll. Now if that's not a movie worth watching, I don't know what is.
Adrian Ma