So it’s been a while I suppose since I’ve really drooled over a movie. Possibly Taken was the last movie that I enjoyed this much, and after the utter disappointment that was Quantum of Solace this movie was the right pick me up I needed. Guy Ritchie returns with some new tricks up his sleeve for his newest movie, RockNRolla.

Now as with Ritchie’s more popular movies [i.e. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch] the movie follows a few different characters who all end up knocking heads together by end of the flick, and of course this all involves the British Underworld. In this edition of Ritchie’s ‘how to’ guide for the anglo-gangster we get to observe a few groups of characters.

The first of these set of characters is known as “The Wild Bunch”, which consists of One Two [Gerard Butler], Mumbles [Idris Elba] and Handsome Bob [Tom Hardy]. The acting by these three is top notch, as is everyone else in this movie. By the end of this movie I felt that this could possibly be Gerard Butler’s best performance to date, he was funny, hurt, compassionate, and a great friend throughout the film. Tom Hardy definitely an added bonus to the movie as well, his character gives you an angle that you would never have seen coming from the trailer, and it is possibly one of the most enjoyable side plots of the movie.

Next we have the “leader of the old school”, Lenny Cole [Tom Wilkinson] and his faithful number two, Archie [Mark Strong], who run the town of London from the underworld. I’ve always been a fan of Tom Wilkinson’s performances, especially from his more recent films [i.e. Batman Begins, The Last Kiss, Michael Clayton, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind] and he definitely delivers. Tom Wilkinson does the British accent so well, I watch a good amount of British cinema in my free time and I think this is a great act for a great actor. Mark Strong on the other hand has officially been added to my shortlist, that is the shortlist of actors who I must see their movie no matter how awful I think – or anyone else thinks for that matter – it will be. He totally killed in two movies in a row, this and a few weeks back in Body of Lies.

The last main character we get to follow is the real RockNRolla, Johnny Quid [Toby Kebbell], who I have never seen in a movie before. He is also in Control, which I have been meaning to watch in recent months but haven’t got around to. He plays the role of a rocker who wants to piss off the world, but at the same time reflect on the more important moments of life. I love whenever we get to see the scenes from his past, it gives us so much detail into this world that Ritchie is taking us through. Unfortunately I can’t speak too much about this great character without giving too much away about the movie, so I will leave it at that this is another great performance and I now have put Control at the top of the ‘to-watch’ list for this weekend.

Ritchie lets us enjoy hanging out with these characters and definitely evolves his art. He somehow fused his high octane style that made him famous with his debut showing and his eye for some glorious shots that he used in his last movie Revolver. Even though I hated Revolver – actually watched it twice to make sure – it did give Ritchie a chance to do something slightly different and it feels like he finally got whatever it was he was trying to do right here with RockNRolla. He makes his interconnecting story work with some great character choices, and at the same time gives us a few scenes where we enjoy some honestly fun moments. He uses the camera a lot more than he did in previous movies though, especially in the “abandon ship” sequence [which is in the trailer].

As with other Ritchie movies the soundtrack is wonderfully put together. It has a blend of great British rock tracks, including a track from the classic The Clash. I also have become a huge fan of the title track Rock & Roll Queen by The Subways [which is the song played in the trailer], and I think it has to do with the fact that not only is the song awesome, but the scene it is played in is just a great scene where we get some more insight into the mind of a true RockNRolla.

So here I will chime out and plead with you all to turn out and watch this movie. It is definitely a great flick in a sea of mediocre to bad movies. Even though I don’t want to restrict Guy Ritchie to only doing this kind of movie this is definitely his niche right now. I do hope though that he works out the kinks with his execution of projects which fall into different genres, because I’m sure that if he does nothing but this for the next decade I will get bored of it.

PS. I liked Swept Away.

IMDB says 7.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes says 58%

I say 8.5/10