Plunkett & Macleane Reviews

The film has been shown once or twice on television in Finland, and I watched it finally. It was well acted and has interesting characters. On the other hand, as the only negative side to mention, some of the humor and scenes are bad, rude, ugly and in my view, stupid. On the other hand, it had a lot of atmosphere, well done music and Liv Tyler. Theres a taste of gritty realism, tension and enough to keep one interested in the plot. Also, it had a functioning, fun ending!

I loved this movie - it had the kind of understated and subtle, intelligent humour that is all too rare these days. Witty, acerbic and thoroughly scurrilous. A titled brat with no brains and a very canny artisan who are both wanted by the law reluctantly join forces as highwaymen. Historically only as accurate as it suits the story at the time, it has a surreal quality that is enchanting. It's effects are exceedingly good considering the movie is set in the mid 18th Century, and all the grittiness and disgusting filth of England at the time, is captured very well. The character's are developed and fleshed out, from Jonny Lee Miller's Macleane's whoring antics to his development into highwayman and exhibitionary 'The Gentleman Highwayman' contrast well with Robert Carlyle's Plunkett, who's cynicism and honour show that you can love a thief and a criminal cos he has I quote [from the movie]: more nobility of soul in his little finger...than any of you bloated bastards has in your entire bodies!" If you haven't seen this cult classic, it's a must-see!

The film has been shown once or twice on television in Finland, and I watched it finally. It was well acted and has interesting characters. On the other hand, as the only negative side to mention, some of the humor and scenes are bad, rude, ugly and in my view, stupid. On the other hand, it had a lot of atmosphere, well done music and Liv Tyler. Theres a taste of gritty realism, tension and enough to keep one interested in the plot. Also, it had a functioning, fun ending!

This movie is quirky, funny, brilliant, feel-good, and anytime I want a laugh its either this or Stripes. Yeah. If you haven't seen it, it's a must-see.

So-so. Had potential to be a gritty and original story, but ultimately falls back on action-adventure cliches.

It tries so hard to be cool...Made a few years earlier than 'A Knights Tale' I can see where some may compare the two...obviously the latter of the two perfecting on the many shortcomings. Not one I would watch again.

A unique attempt at trying to capture a historical thriller in a upbeat, hip fashion. Bad techno music for an old film = a horrible mix. On the whole pretty tasteless despite it's interesting try at fashionable costumes and cutting edge 90's fun.

I really love Robert Carlyle these days I will give it a shot!!

For a film that's over a decade old, this remains a pretty impressive movie as its every bit as funny, original and creative as something you'd see today ...and in many cases better! There are a few lines in there that do scream "the 90s" at you and the ending shot really could rival a Scooby Doo cartoon for its cornyness. But aside from that, its a brilliant film with a massive cast, great scenes and some proper-good laughs! Watch it!

I'm generally not fond of movies set prior to the twentieth century, and this one did not change that. It certainly has its moments, but there's plenty of boredom in between. With half the cast of Trainspotting and a decent modern soundtrack, they should have done better.

A gentleman who is down on his luck teams up with a peasant highwayman in a plan to identify and rob the effete aristocracy of their ill-gotten gains. Plunkett And Macleane was at the receiving end of a critical savaging upon its release at the tail end of the Britpop era, and is one of the first attempts at geezer-izing history. Since the advent of Guy Ritchie and even, to some extent, Pirates Of The Caribbean, the formula seems a lot more familiar. A bit of a marriage of Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers and Carry On Dick, it's basically a period caper movie that combines three corner hats and duelling pistols with the British love of nob jokes and the decent cast with just the right level of irreverence actually makes it work pretty well. The jokes are a little hit and miss, but there are plenty of now familiar faces to spot in the background (including Matt Lucas and David Walliams of Little Britain fame) and it's quite an enjoyable romp if you don't take it too seriously. Carlyle is charismatic as the no-nonsense highwayman, Liv Tyler looks lovely and Ken Stott is a very hissable villain making for a likeable pantomime that didn't really deserve the mauling it took.

Excellent film that shouldn't be taken seriously. Fun from the beginning and I find that although not serious, you care about the characters enough to be worried for them by the climax. A personal favourite for a quick laugh, and better than A Knights Tale in my opinion.

A fun romp in the 1700's. Combined with a little music taken from our contemporary and it all just fits. Well done.

PLUNKETT & MACLEANE (1999)

Already a cult classic, and it's easy to see why. While the occasional anachronism is there, they aren't intrusive. What you have is a solid story, fleshed out characters with definite flaws, a driving plot that never gets boring, and just an overall good movie. One of my all time favorites.

People keep comparing this to A Knights Tale. Knights Tale was sooooo much better. This movie I just found annoying most of the time. Not a bad movie, but just didn't do it for me like most movies set in this time period.

It's an entertaining movie. It's even re-watchable. And I love the soundtrack. Especially the hanging and escape pieces!

Very generic even though it tries hard not to be. I just found most of what was going on screen very unnecessary and puffy, it was just icing there was no deeper meaning than that.

An 18th Century action adventure with a well known Brit cast - Added was some modern day music and I'll put the bad language in there too but it wasn't a distraction and didn't take anything away - I don't think it made it over to this side of the Atlantic...at least I had never heard of it before - This was probably equivalent to a Summer blockbuster here...known cast in a no-brainer romp that was pretty entertaining