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04/23/09
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RocknRolla (2008)
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Reviews Counted:135
Fresh:80
Rotten:55
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: 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.
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Oct 8, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $5,665,302
Synopsis: Guy Ritchie returns to form with this cockney crime caper starring Gerard Butler and Tom Wilkinson. Lenny Cole (Wilkinson) is a bungling London crime boss who calls the shots in London's... [More]
Starring: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, Jeremy Piven
Director: Guy Ritchie
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Reviews for RocknRolla
[Ritchie's] latest effort has the sprawling cast of characters and all the convolutions you'd expect, but none of the wit or joy necessary to distract from its shallowness.
10/10/08
Wading through this stuff is akin to peeping through one's fingers at a retired, punch-drunk boxer climbing into the ring, or a recidivist junkie ripping out their naltrexone implants.
09/05/08
For all its hipster posturing, fast cutting, and camera tricks, this tale of chicanery is peculiarly arid and brittle, without a single character worth caring about.
10/31/08
If RocknRolla clings to the company of ne’er-do-wells, it’s not because they bristle with the frustrations of society, but purely because Ritchie wants to borrow their cheeky charm -- a virtue that, in reality, none of them possess.
10/13/08
His fortitude under critical flak is admirable, and his self-confidence unbelievable, but RocknRolla is the same old shaggy-dog story with a slightly different variety fleas.
09/05/08
Ritchie the director may have returned to form, but Ritchie the writer is still an amorphous mess.
10/31/08
RocknRolla never feels like it's building to anything, and when we get to the end, we discover it wasn't, in fact, building to anything.
10/31/08
Jackanory for Ritchie cronies.
09/09/08
RocknRolla is pure Guy Ritchie. All style and not even a pretense of substance.
11/01/08
This is Guy Ritchie's third turkey in a row, after Swept Away and Revolver. It is a pitiful attempt to recapture the success of his first two movies, Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
09/05/08
'RocknRolla' takes more left turns than imaginable. It might make sense in the mind of Guy Ritchie, but to the rest of the universe, I can not imagine the film will translate.
07/03/09
For all of its cool '60s garage rock and Clash song soundtrack, writer/director Guy Ritchie's latest ode to John Mackenzie "The Long Good Friday" (1979) is a discombobulated and sluggish succession of action set pieces with vaguely interesting characters.
09/23/08
It's a sad experience to watch RocknRolla, the obituary for the Guy Ritchie brand of English gangster flicks.
10/30/08
As a gangster named One Two, Gerard Butler is suitably rough around all his edges.
11/14/08
RocknRolla is two hours of more of the same, accompanied by the usual soundtrack of mockney accents and gunfire. Listen closely and you may also hear the sound of time being called.
09/05/08
For a while you go along for the ride. But as the film progresses it becomes increasingly unwieldy.
11/07/08
Part of the problem is that the plot is just too cluttered. There are far too many characters and sub-plots jostling for attention.
10/31/08
The actual plot is so uselessly convoluted you'd get a headache just reading it -- but you might want to pull out the Advil anyway, given Ritchie's reliance on flashy editing, a blasting soundtrack and fetishized gunplay.
10/10/08
You'd think that being married to Madonna, Guy Ritchie would have picked up on the value of occasionally reinventing oneself.
10/08/08
Latest News for RocknRolla
December 10, 2009:
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Robert Downey Jr. can't quite remember why he was on the phone to Guy Ritchie the first time Sherlock Holmes was mentioned, but it was to give him some advice about the trailer... More...
January 27, 2009:
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"Milk" has been a favorite on the awards circuit this year, and its hot streak has been extended courtesy of the GLAAD Media Awards, where it will compete in the Outstanding... More...
January 26, 2009:
RT on DVD: RocknRolla, Mary Poppins, and Zodiac and Bourne Hit Blu-ray
The year is beginning to get good for home video enthusiasts, with a band of notable new titles and Blu-ray releases to get your itchy fingers twitching. Add Guy Ritchie's... More...
January 17, 2009:
Ritchie's latest homoerotic guy bonding homicidal spree, might be termed a London mafia musical fueled by global capitalism's shaky economic indicators, going toe to toe with the underground urban economy's crimelords in cutthroat competition. Literally.
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