RocknRolla (2008)

When a Russian mobster orchestrates a crooked land deal, millions of dollars are up for grabs, drawing in the entire London underworld into a feeding frenzy at a time when the old criminal regime is losing turf to a wealthy foreign mob.

Director:

Guy Ritchie

Writer:

Guy Ritchie

Stars:

Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Idris Elba

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gerard Butler	...	One Two
Tom Wilkinson	...	Lenny Cole
Thandiwe Newton	...	Stella (as Thandie Newton)
Mark Strong	...	Archy
Idris Elba	...	Mumbles
Tom Hardy	...	Handsome Bob
Karel Roden	...	Uri Omovich
Toby Kebbell	...	Johnny Quid
Jeremy Piven	...	Roman
Ludacris	...	Mickey (as Chris Bridges)
Jimi Mistry	...	Councillor
Matt King	...	Cookie
Geoff Bell	...	Fred the Head
Dragan Micanovic	...	Victor
Michael Ryan	...	Pete

Storyline

Lenny Cole, a London mob boss, puts the bite on all local real estate transactions. For substantial fees, he's helping Uri Omovich, a Russian developer. As a sign of good faith, Omovich loans Cole a valuable painting, promptly stolen off Cole's wall. While Cole's men, led by the dependable Archie, look for the canvas, three local petty criminals, the Wild Bunch, steal money from the Russian using inside information from his accountant, the lovely Stella. Meanwhile, a local drug-addled rocker, Johnny Quid, is reported drowned, and his connection to Cole is the key to unraveling the deceits and double crosses of life in the underworld.

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Plot Keywords:

gangster | homosexual | robbery | corruption | painting | 

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Taglines:

A story of sex, thugs and rock 'n roll.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, violence, drug use and brief sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Matt King, who plays Cookie in this film, actually played director Guy Ritchie on Star Stories: The Wife's Life (2006). Ritchie mentions in the director's commentary that he was unaware of this until after production had wrapped.

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Goofs

During the flashback to Johnny's childhood, Lenny switches off his stereo. As he switches it off, he pushes the top part of the stereo out of place. When the camera pans back out, we can see that the stereo is back in the correct position.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Archie: People ask the question... what's a RocknRolla? And I tell 'em - it's not about drums, drugs, and hospital drips, oh no. There's more there than that, my friend. We all like a bit of the good life - some the money, some the drugs, others the sex game, the glamour, or the fame. But a RocknRolla, oh, he's different. Why? Because a real RocknRolla wants the fucking lot.

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Crazy Credits

There is a scene in the closing credits: the complete scene of One Two dancing with Handsome Bob at the gay bar.

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Connections

Referenced in The First Beautiful Thing (2010)

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Soundtracks

Such a Fool
(Martin Trimble (as Trimble))
Published by EMI Music Publishing LTD/Heayenly Songs
Performed by 22-20s (as 22-20's)
Licensed courtesy of EMI Records LTD

User Reviews

Guy Ritchie going through the motions

POSITIVES:

1) Mark Strong and Tom Wilkinson are great in every scene they're in 2) Some of the humour is laugh out loud funny 3) Features the kind of sharp and fast dialogue you'd expect from a Guy Ritchie film

NEGATIVES:

1) The Toby Kebbel character is extremely annoying and actually adds nothing to the story 2) The running gag about which way Gerard Butler swings is cringeworthy 3) The action scenes are shot with such a shaky camera that it made me feel a bit sick

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Warner Bros. [Japan]

Country:

UK USA France

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

31 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

RocknRolla

Filming Locations:

UK

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$144,701, 12 October 2008

Gross USA:

$5,700,626

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$25,740,863

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Dark Castle Entertainment, Toff Guy Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1