RocknRolla
Encyclopedia
RocknRolla is a 2008 British crime film
written and directed by Guy Ritchie
, and starring Gerard Butler
, Tom Wilkinson
, Mark Strong
, Toby Kebbell
, Tom Hardy
, Idris Elba
, Karel Roden
, and Thandie Newton
. It was released on 5 September 2008 in the UK
, hitting #1 in the UK box office in its first week of release.
) rules the growing real estate business using a corrupt Councilor (Jimi Mistry
) for the bureaucratic services and his henchman Archy (Mark Strong
) for the dirty work. The main characters are introduced in Archy's opening voiceover (who acts as the narrator). 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
) leading a group called the "Wild Bunch".
Uri Omovich meets Lenny for a real estate business and Lenny charges seven-million Euros for the deal; Uri accepts, calls his accountant Stella to launder the necessary funds and lends his lucky painting to Lenny to bring success and fortune to their business. Stella, however, double-crosses Uri and hires The Wild Bunch to steal the money, while, at the same time, the lucky painting is stolen from Lenny's wall by his "junkie" rocker stepson Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell
).
In an attempt to find Johnny, Lenny and Archy enlist his record producer
s Mickey (Chris Bridges
) and Roman (Jeremy Piven
) to help 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.
Meanwhile, after Uri's money is violently stolen by the Wild bunch a second time from a pair of Russian bodyguards, his assistant Victor begins to suspect that it's Lenny who's been stealing the money and purposely keeping Uri's painting from him. This theory enrages Uri, who lures Lenny to a private golf game and has his legs broken, warning him to return his painting without delay.
Coincidentally, Cookie buys Uri's lucky painting from some crackheads who had just stolen it from Johnny's hideout. Cookie then gives the painting to One-Two, who, in turn, offers the painting to Stella (after a sexual encounter) as a token of appreciation for the work she has provided the gang. After Stella leaves his flat, One-Two is assaulted by Uri's henchmen and is about to be subjected to torture
but is rescued, and then kidnapped, by Archie who had come to his home upon finding out One-Two was involved in stealing Uri's money.
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 his. 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. Just as Johnny is about to reveal a damning truth about Lenny in front of everyone, Lenny shoots him in the stomach. Lenny then orders that Johnny, Roman, and Mickey be taken downstairs and executed. He angrily demands that the Wild Bunch tell him where Uri's money is. Handsome Bob (Tom Hardy
) calls out to Archy and offers the documents in his jacket pocket, confirming what Johnny had been about to reveal: 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 were 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 angrily oversees Lenny's execution by drowning.
Meanwhile, in the lift on their way to their deaths, Johnny graphically explains to Mickey and Roman how they will be executed. His description unnerves the man who's to execute the 3 men, prompting him to make a move prematurely. Having also already anticipated this move, Johnny warns Mickey and Roman to intervene and kill their would-be executioner. Johnny shoots two more men waiting at the top of the lift. They overcome the last of the gangsters (with the help of the Wild Bunch) and escape.
Later, Archy picks up a rehabilitated, but still eccentric, Johnny Quid from the hospital. Archy gives 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 newfound freedom from addiction and his father, he will do what he couldn't before: "become a real RocknRolla". The end credits suggest there will be a sequel titled "The Real RocknRolla".
A scheduling conflict prevented director Guy Ritchie
from casting actor Jason Statham
, who had appeared in three of his previous films.
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.
.
The following June, Ritchie hired the cast for RocknRolla, and filming began on location in London on 19 June 2007.
.
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.
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."
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."
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.
revealed Guy Ritchie
stated he hopes to extend RocknRolla into a trilogy if the film receives enough positive attention.
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.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
written and directed by Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
, and starring Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
, Tom Wilkinson
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...
, Mark Strong
Mark Strong
Mark Strong is an English actor, with a body of work in both films and television. He has performed in films as varied as Body of Lies, Syriana, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Stardust, and Kick-Ass...
, Toby Kebbell
Toby Kebbell
Tobias Alistair P. "Toby" Kebbell is a British actor.-Life and career:Kebbell, the fourth of five children, was born in South Elmsall, on the A638 between Doncaster and Wakefield, Yorkshire, but grew up in Nottinghamshire...
, Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy
Edward Thomas "Tom" Hardy is an English actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the 2008 British film Bronson, the character of Eames in Inception, and the villain Praetor Shinzon in Star Trek Nemesis...
, Idris Elba
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor. He has starred in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including ...
, Karel Roden
Karel Roden
Karel Roden is a Czech actor, known for his roles in Hellboy and The Bourne Supremacy.Roden's father and grandfather were also actors. After studying theatrical art in Prague he has played many roles in theatres and movies. First, he graduated school of ceramic, then he was admitted to the Academy...
, and Thandie Newton
Thandie Newton
Thandiwe Nashita "Thandie" Newton is a British actress. She has appeared in a number of British and American films, including The Pursuit of Happyness, Mission: Impossible II, Crash, Run, Fatboy, Run and W....
. It was released on 5 September 2008 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, hitting #1 in the UK box office in its first week of release.
Plot
In London, the British mob boss Lenny Cole (Tom WilkinsonTom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...
) rules the growing real estate business using a corrupt Councilor (Jimi Mistry
Jimi Mistry
-Early life:Mistry, was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England to an Indian Hindu father and an Irish Roman Catholic mother. He was brought up a Roman Catholic and attended St. James' Catholic High in Cheadle Hulme before his family moved to Cardiff where he attended Radyr Comprehensive School...
) for the bureaucratic services and his henchman Archy (Mark Strong
Mark Strong
Mark Strong is an English actor, with a body of work in both films and television. He has performed in films as varied as Body of Lies, Syriana, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Stardust, and Kick-Ass...
) for the dirty work. The main characters are introduced in Archy's opening voiceover (who acts as the narrator). A billionaire Russian businessman, Uri Omovich (Karel Roden
Karel Roden
Karel Roden is a Czech actor, known for his roles in Hellboy and The Bourne Supremacy.Roden's father and grandfather were also actors. After studying theatrical art in Prague he has played many roles in theatres and movies. First, he graduated school of ceramic, then he was admitted to the Academy...
), 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
Thandie Newton
Thandiwe Nashita "Thandie" Newton is a British actress. She has appeared in a number of British and American films, including The Pursuit of Happyness, Mission: Impossible II, Crash, Run, Fatboy, Run and W....
) and ambitious small-time crook One-Two (Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
) leading a group called the "Wild Bunch".
Uri Omovich meets Lenny for a real estate business and Lenny charges seven-million Euros for the deal; Uri accepts, calls his accountant Stella to launder the necessary funds and lends his lucky painting to Lenny to bring success and fortune to their business. Stella, however, double-crosses Uri and hires The Wild Bunch to steal the money, while, at the same time, the lucky painting is stolen from Lenny's wall by his "junkie" rocker stepson Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell
Toby Kebbell
Tobias Alistair P. "Toby" Kebbell is a British actor.-Life and career:Kebbell, the fourth of five children, was born in South Elmsall, on the A638 between Doncaster and Wakefield, Yorkshire, but grew up in Nottinghamshire...
).
In an attempt to find Johnny, Lenny and Archy enlist his record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
s Mickey (Chris Bridges
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
) and Roman (Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor....
) to help 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.
Meanwhile, after Uri's money is violently stolen by the Wild bunch a second time from a pair of Russian bodyguards, his assistant Victor begins to suspect that it's Lenny who's been stealing the money and purposely keeping Uri's painting from him. This theory enrages Uri, who lures Lenny to a private golf game and has his legs broken, warning him to return his painting without delay.
Coincidentally, Cookie buys Uri's lucky painting from some crackheads who had just stolen it from Johnny's hideout. Cookie then gives the painting to One-Two, who, in turn, offers the painting to Stella (after a sexual encounter) as a token of appreciation for the work she has provided the gang. After Stella leaves his flat, One-Two is assaulted by Uri's henchmen and is about to be subjected to torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
but is rescued, and then kidnapped, by Archie who had come to his home upon finding out One-Two was involved in stealing Uri's money.
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 his. 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. Just as Johnny is about to reveal a damning truth about Lenny in front of everyone, Lenny shoots him in the stomach. Lenny then orders that Johnny, Roman, and Mickey be taken downstairs and executed. He angrily demands that the Wild Bunch tell him where Uri's money is. Handsome Bob (Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy
Edward Thomas "Tom" Hardy is an English actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the 2008 British film Bronson, the character of Eames in Inception, and the villain Praetor Shinzon in Star Trek Nemesis...
) calls out to Archy and offers the documents in his jacket pocket, confirming what Johnny had been about to reveal: that the "rat"
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
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 were 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 angrily oversees Lenny's execution by drowning.
Meanwhile, in the lift on their way to their deaths, Johnny graphically explains to Mickey and Roman how they will be executed. His description unnerves the man who's to execute the 3 men, prompting him to make a move prematurely. Having also already anticipated this move, Johnny warns Mickey and Roman to intervene and kill their would-be executioner. Johnny shoots two more men waiting at the top of the lift. They overcome the last of the gangsters (with the help of the Wild Bunch) and escape.
Later, Archy picks up a rehabilitated, but still eccentric, Johnny Quid from the hospital. Archy gives 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 newfound freedom from addiction and his father, he will do what he couldn't before: "become a real RocknRolla". The end credits suggest there will be a sequel titled "The Real RocknRolla".
Cast
- Mark StrongMark StrongMark Strong is an English actor, with a body of work in both films and television. He has performed in films as varied as Body of Lies, Syriana, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Stardust, and Kick-Ass...
as Archy, Lenny Cole's right hand man and the film's narrator. - Tom WilkinsonTom WilkinsonThomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...
as Lenny Cole, a head mobster part of London's declining old school mob regime. - Toby KebbellToby KebbellTobias Alistair P. "Toby" Kebbell is a British actor.-Life and career:Kebbell, the fourth of five children, was born in South Elmsall, on the A638 between Doncaster and Wakefield, Yorkshire, but grew up in Nottinghamshire...
as Johnny Quid, a musician and Lenny's estranged, drug-addicted stepson. It is implied that he faked his own death after anticipating that the news of his demise would cause his music sales to go up. - Gerard ButlerGerard ButlerGerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
as One-Two, a ScottishScottish peopleThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
mobster who is a member of The Wild Bunch. - Tom HardyTom HardyEdward Thomas "Tom" Hardy is an English actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the 2008 British film Bronson, the character of Eames in Inception, and the villain Praetor Shinzon in Star Trek Nemesis...
as Handsome Bob, a member of The Wild Bunch who is a closeted homosexual and has a semi-secret crush on One Two. - Idris ElbaIdris ElbaIdrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor. He has starred in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including ...
as Mumbles, One-Two's partner and a member of The Wild Bunch. - Karel RodenKarel RodenKarel Roden is a Czech actor, known for his roles in Hellboy and The Bourne Supremacy.Roden's father and grandfather were also actors. After studying theatrical art in Prague he has played many roles in theatres and movies. First, he graduated school of ceramic, then he was admitted to the Academy...
as the Russian business oligarch Uri Omovich, who is based on Roman AbramovichRoman AbramovichRoman Arkadyevich Abramovich is a Russian businessman and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC.In 2003, Abramovich was named Person of the Year by Expert, a Russian business magazine. He shared this title with Mikhail Khodorkovsky...
. - Thandie NewtonThandie NewtonThandiwe Nashita "Thandie" Newton is a British actress. She has appeared in a number of British and American films, including The Pursuit of Happyness, Mission: Impossible II, Crash, Run, Fatboy, Run and W....
as Stella, Uri's accountant and One-Two's love interest. - Dragan MićanovićDragan MićanovićDragan Mićanović is a Serbian actor. International audiences probably best know him for his roles in the films Layer Cake , The White Countess and RocknRolla . Mićanović played his first role abroad in Hamlet at the Globe Theatre.-Personal life:Mićanović was married to Serbian actress Ana...
as Victor, Omovich's right hand man - Matt KingMatt King (comedian)Matt King is an English actor, writer of BBC sitcom Whites and comedian. He is known for his role as self-absorbed musician Super Hans in the British sitcom Peep Show....
as Cookie - Geoff BellGeoff Bell (actor)Geoff Bell is an English actor.-Career:He has appeared in many films, mostly as a cameo appearance or as a supporting role.He has appeared in Girl with a Pearl Earring, Stardust, The Long Firm, Making Waves, The Business and RocknRolla.One of his most well-known films is Green Street, where he...
as Fred - Chris BridgesLudacrisChristopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
as Mickey - Gemma ArtertonGemma ArtertonGemma Arterton is an English actress. She played the eponymous protagonist in the BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and starred in the feature films St Trinian's, the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Tamara...
as June. - Jeremy PivenJeremy PivenJeremy Samuel Piven is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor....
as Roman - Jimi MistryJimi Mistry-Early life:Mistry, was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England to an Indian Hindu father and an Irish Roman Catholic mother. He was brought up a Roman Catholic and attended St. James' Catholic High in Cheadle Hulme before his family moved to Cardiff where he attended Radyr Comprehensive School...
as The Councillor - Robert StoneRobert StoneRobert Stone is an American novelist. His work is typically characterized by psychological complexity, political concerns, and dark humor. His novels include the National Book Award–winning Dog Soldiers , and the PEN/Faulkner Award–winning A Flag for Sunrise...
as The Nightclub Bouncer - Jamie Campbell BowerJamie Campbell BowerJames "Jamie" Campbell M. Bower is an English actor, singer and former model. Bower is best known for his role as Anthony Hope in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, his role of Caius in The Twilight Saga: New Moon and his role of King Arthur in the Starz original series...
as Rocker
A scheduling conflict prevented director Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
from casting actor Jason Statham
Jason Statham
Jason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
, who had appeared in three of his previous films.
Production
In May 2007, director Guy RitchieGuy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
announced the production of RocknRolla, a film with a similar theme to two of his previous films, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 British crime film directed and written by Guy Ritchie. The story is a heist film involving a self-confident young card sharp who loses £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of three card brag...
(1998) and Snatch
Snatch (film)
Snatch is a 2000 crime film written and directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast. Set in the London criminal underworld, the film contains two intertwined plots: one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish ...
(2000). RocknRolla, written by Ritchie, was produced by Joel Silver
Joel Silver
Joel Silver is an American Hollywood film producer, co-creator of the sport of Ultimate, co-founder of Dark Castle Entertainment and owner of Silver Pictures.-Life and career:...
's Dark Castle Entertainment
Dark Castle Entertainment
Dark Castle Entertainment is a division of Silver Pictures, a production house affiliated with Warner Bros. It was formed in 1999 by Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler...
and distributed by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
.
The following June, Ritchie hired the cast for RocknRolla, and filming began on location in London on 19 June 2007.
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 TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
The website Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, 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.
Chris Tilly of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
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."
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
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."
Box office
The film hit #1 at the UK box office in its first week of release.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.
Soundtrack
United Kingdom edition- "Dialogue Clip: People Ask the Question" - Mark StrongMark StrongMark Strong is an English actor, with a body of work in both films and television. He has performed in films as varied as Body of Lies, Syriana, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Stardust, and Kick-Ass...
- "I'm a ManI'm A Man (Bo Diddley song)"I'm a Man" is a song written and recorded by Bo Diddley in 1955. A moderately slow blues with a stop-time figure, it was inspired by an earlier blues song and became a #1 R&B chart hit. "I'm a Man" has been acknowledged by Rolling Stone magazine and has been recorded by a variety of artists,...
" - Black StrobeBlack StrobeBlack Strobe were formed in Paris in 1997 by producer Arnaud Rebotini and DJ Ivan Smagghe, and were instrumental in the rise of the electroclash movement in the UK with their breakthrough single Me And Madonna... - "Have Love, Will TravelHave Love, Will Travel"Have Love, Will Travel" is a 1959 song written and recorded by Richard Berry.-Covers:In its most known instantiation, the garage rock-protopunkers The Sonics covered the song in 1965 and it appeared on their album Here Are The Sonics of that year...
" - The SonicsThe SonicsThe Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, originating from the early and mid-1960s. Among The Sonics' contemporaries were The Kingsmen, The Wailers, The Dynamics, The Regents, and Paul Revere & the Raiders... - "Dialogue Clip: No School Like the Old School" - Various Artists
- "BankrobberBankrobber"Bankrobber" is a song, and single by The Clash. The song was not released on any of their studio albums, instead appearing on their compilation Black Market Clash...
" - The ClashThe ClashThe Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly... - "The Trip" - Kim FowleyKim FowleyKim Vincent Fowley is an American record producer, impresario, songwriter, musician, film maker, and radio actor. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult rock pop singles in the 1960s, and for managing The Runaways in the 1970s...
- "Dialogue Clip: Slap Him!" - Various Artists
- "Ruskies" - Steve Isles
- "Outlaw" - WarWar (band)War is an American funk band from California, known for the hit songs "Low Rider", "Spill the Wine", "The Cisco Kid" and "Why Can't We Be Friends?". Formed in 1969, War was a musical crossover band which fused elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae...
- "Waiting for a TrainWaiting for a Train"Waiting for a Train" is the ninth single by the Australian synthpop group Flash and the Pan. It is taken from the album Headlines and became their most successful single, reaching number 7 on the UK singles chart in 1983. The song features the vocals of Stevie Wright, the former bandmate of Harry...
" - Flash and the PanFlash and the PanFlash and the Pan was an Australian New Wave musical group initiated during the late 1970s by Harry Vanda and George Young, both former members of The Easybeats... - "Dialogue Clip: Junkies" - Various Artists
- "Rock & Roll Queen" - The SubwaysThe SubwaysThe Subways are an English alternative rock / indie rock band. Their debut album, Young For Eternity, was released on 4 July 2005 in the UK and February 14, 2006 in the U.S. Their second album, All or Nothing, was released on 30 June 2008 and their third album Money and Celebrity debuted on the...
- "The Gun" - Lou ReedLou ReedLewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
- "The Stomp" - The HivesThe HivesThe Hives are a Swedish garage rock band that first garnered attention in the early 2000s as a prominent group of the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the "greatest hits" album Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most well-known song "Hate to Say I Told...
- "We Had Love" - The ScientistsThe ScientistsThe Scientists are an influential post-punk band from Perth, Australia, led by Kim Salmon, initially known as Exterminators and then Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk band of the late 1970s and the Sydney/London-based swamp rock band of the 1980s...
- "Dialogue Clip: Sausage & Beans" - Various Artists
- "Mirror in the Bathroom" - The Beat
- "Funnel of LoveFunnel of Love"Funnel of Love" is a 1961 song by Wanda Jackson, written by Charlie McCoy and Kent Westberry and recorded on April 10, 1961.The song contains a guitar solo by Roy Clark....
" - Wanda JacksonWanda JacksonWanda Lavonne Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist... - "Such a Fool" - 22-20s22-20s22-20s are an English rock band formed in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. The band originally disbanded in December 2005 but reformed in 2008 and released Shake/Shiver/Moan in 2010....
- "Dopilsya" - EX SEKTOR GAZA
- "Negra Leono" - Miguelito ValdésMiguelito ValdésMiguelito Valdés, born Miguel Ángel Eugenio Lázaro Zacarias Izquierdo Valdés Hernández , also called Mr. Babalú, was a Cuban popular singer of high quality...
Sequels
Thandie NewtonThandie Newton
Thandiwe Nashita "Thandie" Newton is a British actress. She has appeared in a number of British and American films, including The Pursuit of Happyness, Mission: Impossible II, Crash, Run, Fatboy, Run and W....
revealed Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
stated he hopes to extend RocknRolla into a trilogy if the film receives enough positive attention.
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
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
, the second film has been written and is awaiting studio approval.