RocknRolla (15)

Sep 7 2008 By Roz Laws

MARRYING Madonna has not been good for Guy Ritchie’s film career.

After a promising start with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, it’s been downhill all the way since – especially since he hooked up with Madge. Let’s not even mention Swept Away.

There are signs of a slight improvement in his latest effort, which is at least more watchable than Revolver. But although it starts and ends fairly well, it drags so badly in the middle that it almost comes to a halt.

Ritchie is certainly helped by an excellent cast. Tom Wilkinson is crime boss Lenny Cole, while Mark Strong is his right-hand man Archie. He gets involved with Uri Obamovich (Karel Roden), a Russian billionaire who owns a football club – now who could that be? – despite Archie warning him “they ain’t no respecters of the old school”.

There are lots of characters and a complex, interweaving plot involving the repeated theft of seven million euros, bent accountant Thandie Newton, a painting we never see, corrupt councillor Jimi Mistry and the fake death of rock star Johnny (Toby Kebbell).

We don’t care for any of them, although if we had to root for someone it would be small-time crook One Two (Gerard Butler).

The cast also includes Jeremy Piven, Ludacris, Tom Hardy and Idris Elba. Some amusing dialogue works, but most of it doesn’t. Rocknrolla has nasty violence, xenophobia and homophobia at its heart, despite Ritchie’s efforts to be deep and philosophical.

As his films are all so similar, goodness only knows what he’s going to do with Sherlock Holmes, his unlikely next project.

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