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| date = 26 June 2007
| date = 26 June 2007
| accessdate = 11 July 2007
| accessdate = 11 July 2007
}}</ref> Special Thanks for the film production were awarded to Richard Mirisch and Scott Walterschied <ref>[="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032755/fullcredits#cast"]</ref>
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== Soundtrack ==
== Soundtrack ==

Revision as of 03:24, 15 February 2011

RocknRolla
File:RocknRolla poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGuy Ritchie
Written byGuy Ritchie
Produced bySteve Clark-Hall
Susan Downey
Guy Ritchie
Joel Silver
StarringToby Kebbell
Mark Strong
Tom Wilkinson
Gerard Butler
Tom Hardy
Idris Elba
Thandie Newton
Narrated byMark Strong
CinematographyDavid Higgs
Edited byJames Herbert
Music bySteve Isles
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
United Kingdom
5 September 2008
United States
8 October 2008 (limited)
31 October 2008 (wide)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryTemplate:FilmUK
LanguageEnglish
Budget$18 million
Box office$25,739,015 (worldwide)[1]

RocknRolla is a 2008 British crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Thandie Newton, Idris Elba, Ludacris, Gemma Arterton and Dragan Micanovic.

The film revolves around Lenny, a "rocknrolla" (a successful crime boss and jack-the-lad), and was made in London. It was released on 5 September 2008 in the UK, hitting #1 in the UK box office in its first week of release.[2]

Plot

Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson) is a crime boss who calls the shots in London's underworld and real estate market. Lenny and his methods of acquisition are explained Archy (Mark Strong), his second in command who serves as the film's narrator. The main characters are introduced in Archy's opening voiceover. A billionaire Russian businessman, Uri Omovich (Karel Roden), plans a crooked land deal, and London's crooks all want a piece of it. Other key players include the underhand accountant Stella (Thandie Newton) and ambitious small-time crook One-Two (Gerard Butler).

When the wealthy Uri Omovich looks to Lenny for help on a major new deal, Lenny is eager to assist for a large fee. Uri agrees to pay, and as a show of faith, he insists that Lenny borrow his "lucky" painting. Uri then asks his accountant, Stella, to transfer the money to Lenny, but things quickly go awry when a band of thieves known as "The Wild Bunch" intercept the money before it reaches him (at the behest of Stella). Wild Bunch members Mumbles and One-Two see the heist as an opportunity to pay Lenny back a huge sum of money owed to him. Lenny had given them a loan to buy a building and then ordered the local Councillor to deny their petition, knowing the property would kick back to him. However, they are unaware that they are stealing from both Lenny and the Russian mob. Also unknown to them is the fact hat the lucky painting has mysteriously been stolen, and the number one suspect is Lenny's estranged stepson, crack-addicted rock star Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell), who is presumed dead. As Lenny desperately tries to locate the painting, Uri calls in his henchmen to recover his money.

In an attempt to find Johnny, Lenny and Archy enlist his record producers Mickey (Chris Bridges) and Roman (Jeremy Piven) to track him down. In order to gain leverage over them Cole's men make it clear that their concerts and clubs will be shut down if they do not comply.

Uri makes a decision regarding Stella, whom he has been smitten with for a long time. He arrives at Stella's house to seal their arrangements while also asking her to marry him, but spots his lucky painting in Stella's living room. On being asked how long she's had it, Stella says she's had it for years, not knowing it's actually Uri's. It is implied that she is murdered.

Meanwhile, Archy brings Johnny, the Wild Bunch, Mickey and Roman to Lenny's warehouse where Johnny begins to verbally provoke his crippled stepfather. Lenny then shoots Johnny in the stomach before he can finish what he says. Lenny then orders Johnny, Roman and Mickey be brought downstairs and executed. He then angrily demands that the Wild Bunch tell him where Uri's money is. Handsome Bob calls out to Archy and offers the documents in his jacket pocket which reveals that the "rat" in the ranks, codenamed "Sidney Shaw", was Lenny all along. Lenny arranged with the police to routinely throw many of his associates in prison for years at a time in order to secure his own freedom and sow fear among his gang. One Two, Mumbles and even Archy are among the people Lenny has informed on over the years. With the information brought to light, Archy orders Lenny's men to free the Wild Bunch and oversees Lenny's execution by drowning.

Johnny informs Mickey and Roman how they will be executed, prompting Lenny's man to move prematurely. Mickey and Roman intervene and kill their presumed exectuioner. Johnny shoots two more men waiting at the top of the elevator. They overcome the last of the gangsters and escape.

Later, Archy picks up a rehabilitated but still eccentric Johnny Quid from the hospital. Archy offers Uri's lucky painting to Johnny as a peace offering and "welcome home present", which Johnny happily accepts. Archy reveals to Johnny that obtaining the painting "cost a very wealthy Russian an arm and a leg." The film closes with Johnny proclaiming that with his new freedom, he will do what he couldn't do before: "become a real RocknRolla". The end credits suggest there will be a sequel titled "The Real RocknRolla".

Cast

Members of the cast of the film at a screening at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival

A scheduling conflict prevented director Guy Ritchie from casting actor Jason Statham, who had appeared in three of his previous films.[6]

Production

In May 2007, director Guy Ritchie announced the production of RocknRolla, a film with a similar theme to two of his previous films, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000). RocknRolla, written by Ritchie, was produced by Joel Silver's Dark Castle Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros..[7] The following June, Ritchie hired the cast for RocknRolla, and filming began on location in London on 19 June 2007. [8] Special Thanks for the film production were awarded to Richard Mirisch and Scott Walterschied [9]

Soundtrack

Untitled

Track listing

United Kingdom edition
  1. "Dialogue Clip: People Ask the Question" by Mark Strong
  2. "I'm a Man" by Black Strobe
  3. "Have Love, Will Travel" by The Sonics
  4. "Dialogue Clip: No School Like the Old School" by Various Artists
  5. "Bankrobber" by The Clash
  6. "The Trip" by Kim Fowley
  7. "Dialogue Clip: Slap Him!" by Various Artists
  8. "Ruskies" by Steve Isles
  9. "Outlaw" by War
  10. "Waiting for a Train" by Flash and the Pan
  11. "Dialogue Clip: Junkies" by Various Artists
  12. "Rock & Roll Queen" by The Subways
  13. "The Gun" by Lou Reed
  14. "The Stomp" by The Hives
  15. "We Had Love" by The Scientists
  16. "Dialogue Clip: Sausage & Beans" by Various Artists
  17. "Mirror in the Bathroom" by The Beat
  18. "Funnel of Love" by Wanda Jackson
  19. "Such a Fool" by 22-20s
  20. "Dopilsya" by EX SEKTOR GAZA
  21. "Negra Leono" by Miguelito Valdés

Reception

Critical response

Critical reaction to the film has been mixed to positive, with 60% positive out of 134 reviews on the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.[10] The website Metacritic, which compiles and then aggregates major film critics' reviews, gave the film a 53 out of 100, which is categorized as having mixed or average reviews.[11]

Chris Tilly of IGN UK gave the film a positive review with four out of five stars, saying "He's hardly re-inventing the wheel with this movie, but RocknRolla is nonetheless a comedy thriller that is every bit as accomplished as his early work, and without doubt a witty, adrenalin-fuelled blast from start to finish."[12] 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."[13]

Box office

The film hit #1 at the UK box office in its first week of release.[2]

The film took a total gross of US $25,739,015 worldwide, compared to US $83,000,000 for Snatch, seeing a modest return on the film's US$18,000,000 budget.[1]

Sequels

Thandie Newton revealed Guy Ritchie stated he hopes to extend RocknRolla into a trilogy if the film receives enough positive attention.[14] At the end of the film there is a title card stating "Johnny, Archy and the Wild Bunch will be back in The Real RocknRolla". According to the audio commentary, the second film has been written and is awaiting studio approval.

References

  1. ^ a b "RocknRolla (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  2. ^ a b "UK Box Office: 5–7 September 2008". UK Film Council. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  3. ^ Dempster, Sarah (22 September 2007). "Tom Hardy tastes the hard life". The Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 2007-11-22. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ O'Sullivan, Charlotte (2 January 2008). "Big in 2008". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 2008-06-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Maher, Kevin (19 January 2008). "Sweeney's fresh blood". The Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 2008-06-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Hellard, Peta (18 October 2007). "Hard luck story for Jason Statham". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2007. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Kit, Borys (14 May 2007). "Ritchie will rock caper pic". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 July 2007. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ title = Five plugged in for Ritchie's 'RocknRolla' | url = http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003603604 | publisher = The Hollywood Reporter | date = 26 June 2007 | accessdate = 11 July 2007 }}
  9. ^ [="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032755/fullcredits#cast"]
  10. ^ "RocknRolla (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  11. ^ "RocknRolla Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  12. ^ Tilly, Chris (2 September 2008). "RocknRolla UK Review". IGN UK. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  13. ^ Ebert, Roger (29 October 2008). "RocknRolla Review". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ Adler, Shawn (24 March 2008). "Breaking: Guy Ritchie Plans 'RocknRolla' Trilogy With Thandie Newton". MTV Movies Blog. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2008.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to RocknRolla.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to RocknRolla.
Preceded by Number-one DVDs of 2009 (UK)
8 February 		Succeeded by
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