A few comments about RockNRolla. I love gangster/mob films (Hong Kong over-the-top stylized violence), if they are not too bloody and not too much nasty language. So I was expecting RnR to be what it is - a gangster film with lots of cussin' and shootin' etc. Actually, I was surprised it was shot in such a way that some of the mayhem is off screen and you just hear it or the others are talking about it. There is a lot to be said for quick cuts.
The cast are all so good it is a pleasure to watch them morph into these mobsters, lowlifes and druggies. Gerard Butler is One-Two, the leader of The Wild Bunch, and is full of doofus charm.. The character isn't brilliant, but he is good-hearted to his mates. His dancing scene with Stella (Thandie Newton) the crooked bookkeeper for the Russian mobster, is very funny. He is either a good dancer and playing an awkward one; or really a bit awkward. Anyway, it is very cute and he and Thandie are darling together.
Idris Elba (Mumbles) & Handsome Bob (Tom Hardy) are the rest of The Wild Bunch. The encounter between One-Two and Handsome Bob is funny and sweet and even though One-two is shocked at first, he handles it so well and the two actors are just very good. Nice script writing. Or did the actors improvise some? Then One-Twos conversation with Mumbles about Bob is so funny and puts a human face on these violent criminals.
Other acting standouts are Toby Kebbell as Johnnie Quid (the RockNRolla) as the druggie step-son of Tom Wilkinsons mob boss (although I did get tired of Tom acting at the top of his voice), and his right-hand man Archie played by Mark Stong, who is a violent man, but Stong's expressions as things take crazy twists and turns are priceless. Another good performance.
The Russian mob after The Wild Bunch, who have stolen from them, is the funniest chase in a long time, which just ends because they all are so tired they can't run anymore. Oh, and the McGuffin priceless painting, which we never see except from the back, which is stolen many times, ends up at Stella's place. The Russian kingpin is not happy when he sees it (originally it belonged to him and he wants it back.) Will he have Stella killed? He's just asked her to marry him - but now, here's his painting - what's a billionaire mobster to do? We'll have to wait for RnR2 "The Real RockNRolla," to find out.
Since this is an ensemble film, no one is featured more than The Wild Bunch, I like that. I love The Wild Bunch, and hope they get to make 2 more films, writer/director Guy Richie has already written. They're cooool, just not as cool as they think they are. And when they ramp up the music near the end, it is a like a jolt of caffeine to the brain. WOW! Once around again!
8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032755/
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