Ritchie has proverbially Swept Away Revolver under his carpet.DETAILS:
Released - 5 September 2008
Certificate - 15
Running Time - 114min
Director/Screenwriter - Guy Ritchie Producers -Guy Ritchie, Joel Silver, Steve Richards, Navid McIlhargey
Cinematography- David Higgs
Editing - James Herbert
Music - Steve Isles
Theatrical distributor - Warner Bros
Country - UK
SYNOPSIS:
Some souferners go 'round being all threatening and shooting fings.
REVIEW/RANT:
In an industry which is all about profit and returns, second chances are rare. This is certainly Ritchie’s last chance.
Obviously when I went to see Rock n Rolla I was not expecting a masterpiece. But since Ritchie was now on familiar ground I nostalgically thought he would be able entertain me like he used to when I was a young, naïve and rather spotty teenager. The problem is that he is on too familiar ground. Once again he has remade Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Here Londoners with stereotypical voices and no real names; One Two, Mumbles, Tank etc. take proceedings and not a single one is believable or threatening. The gang ‘The Wild Bunch’ have no real chemistry, comradeship or banter. I am a great fan of the very talented Tom Wilkinson but here his impression of Bob Hoskins throughout is wincingly irritating.
Rock n Rolla is an attempt at remaking The Long Good Friday in a modern day context but to no avail. Ritchie’s script is nowhere near as witty as it thinks it is as all the jokes are based around homophobia and his desperate attempts at punch lines fall flat on their face.
Basically the best way to describe Ritchie’s direction is ‘flashy with no substance’. He should go back to music video direction where he started as this seems to be his true calling. Perhaps he should do a new video for the subways as the song ‘Rock n Roll Queen’ is played annoyingly too often.
Whereas the plot in Lock Stock was well structured and consistent the narrative here has too many different inconsistent storylines and is very confused. Ritchie had one entertaining film in him and people are starting to cotton on to the fact he is simply rehashing the same concept every time.
It is worth mentioning that Ritchie’s old producer Micheal Vaughn has gone onto great success with Layer Cake, Stardust and the opportunity to direct X-Men 3. Perhaps this was where the real talent lied. Ever since they stopped collaborating Ritchie’s work has desperately declined whilst Vaughn’s status has reached dizzying heights. It is also reported that Vaughn would take over direction duties when Ritchie couldn’t be bothered turning up for work.
As the credits arrive Ritchie advertises his planned sequel; The Real Rock n Rolla. Although such a film will not be made if this feature does not make enough money. Please do not put your hand in your pocket to fund this abomination. Unfunny, rubbish and unimaginative action proves he is only interested in the money. Help me prove to him that the movie going public are not stupid and make this fail.
Rock n Rolla is an attempt at remaking The Long Good Friday in a modern day context but to no avail. Ritchie’s script is nowhere near as witty as it thinks it is as all the jokes are based around homophobia and his desperate attempts at punch lines fall flat on their face.
Basically the best way to describe Ritchie’s direction is ‘flashy with no substance’. He should go back to music video direction where he started as this seems to be his true calling. Perhaps he should do a new video for the subways as the song ‘Rock n Roll Queen’ is played annoyingly too often.
Whereas the plot in Lock Stock was well structured and consistent the narrative here has too many different inconsistent storylines and is very confused. Ritchie had one entertaining film in him and people are starting to cotton on to the fact he is simply rehashing the same concept every time.
It is worth mentioning that Ritchie’s old producer Micheal Vaughn has gone onto great success with Layer Cake, Stardust and the opportunity to direct X-Men 3. Perhaps this was where the real talent lied. Ever since they stopped collaborating Ritchie’s work has desperately declined whilst Vaughn’s status has reached dizzying heights. It is also reported that Vaughn would take over direction duties when Ritchie couldn’t be bothered turning up for work.
As the credits arrive Ritchie advertises his planned sequel; The Real Rock n Rolla. Although such a film will not be made if this feature does not make enough money. Please do not put your hand in your pocket to fund this abomination. Unfunny, rubbish and unimaginative action proves he is only interested in the money. Help me prove to him that the movie going public are not stupid and make this fail.
TO SUM UP:
Let’s make no bones about it, Ritchie is not a skilled filmmaker. He made a sparkling humorous debut and a solid second film which was more or less the same but it had just enough minor differences to get away with it. Three flops in a row, he has well and truly sold out!
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