Majikat Rock n rolla should be the third instalment of the Ritchie films from lock, stock to Snatch to this one, showing the progression of criminality. Slower than the others, but once again a great mixture of characters and a full star cast.Johnny Quid aka Toby Kebbell was the absolute star in this and the trademark of interlocking stories, plenty of serious moments, but also plenty of laughter and quotable lines.

Asif Khan (asifahsankhan) When you're British, you don't need to go on bragging about yourself being the "Best," everyone pretty much accepts that already. So when structuring a group of British gangsters one distinguishes them with some clear obvious notes. Sure they may dress better than Wall Street overlords, and have more class, but they also, nevertheless, don't just think big, they think bigger and smarter. They are the Brits for Christ sake. Which also means they don't talk trash like the Italian mobsters or live as filthy as the gangs of New York. But yes, they are indeed gangsters. Dangerous and merciless -- but one of a kind. They'd kill you but in their own way. In fact, they won't waste even a nick of time when they mean business or in other words, when they want to kill you, they will come and simply kill you. It's one of those rare circular con jobs where you can more or less figure out what's going on, and you can more or less understand why nobody else does, although at various times, they all think they do, and at other times, you're wrong. While they engage in these miscalculations, they act terrifically dangerous to one another -- so smoothly you'd swear they were in the second year of a repertory tour.After a botched land deal, One Two (Gerard Butler) and Mumbles (Idris Elba) steal the money they need to pay back fixer Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson), with the help of accountant Stella (Thandie Newton). But their plans are complicated by a Russian oligarch and his one beloved "lucky" painting... That's Guy Richie's film. As with Richie's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" or "Snatch", this is another narrative underrated class, setting up One Two and Mumbles -- the nominal everyday-criminal-heroes (it's when your villains are much stronger and far better than you are) -- who navigate us through a series of subplots, including one about a never-seen stolen painting that skews too close to Pulp Fiction's running gag about the briefcase. Though the comedy works well (there's a great scene where the gay Handsome Bob (Tom Hardy) has his way with One Two with a line like "I want you"), the final reel is just too light, with a touch of sitcom about the - almost - consequence-free finale. It was pretty real and shows how a completely normal straight man would react if he finds out his best friend is gay and wants him. On the other hand he'd also probably be left in much awe if this the last night before his friend leaves for prison and for the next five years. The bottom line is, all these people chase the same money around with the success of doggie tail-biting, and it's a lot of fun, and it's not often in these con films that everybody is conning everybody, and they're all scared to death, and nobody knows which cup the pea is under. Some very hard cases from the London and Russian underworlds who are all trying to out-think on one another and to wonder which one has truly underestimated the other.But the one that stands out in between, so much so that it gives the film its title, is the strand dealing with Lenny Cole's wayward son, a crack-addicted rocker called Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell). While that's a bit of a give away, the actual best thing about the film is Cole's right hand man and Quid's uncle (and sort of his childhood hero), Archy (Mark Strong). The "title" of the film secretly belongs to him, actually. And you'll know it right before the end through Quid. Speaking of which, it's a terrific turn from Kebbell, making sly digs at the music industry and drawing parallels between his rock world and the underworld with a turn that veers from cadaverous and vulnerable to whippet-like and surprisingly tough when times get the hardest. Proclaiming his status as the next Real "RockNRolla" (just like his Uncle) right before we all take him for granted."RocknRolla" is how they say "rock and roller" in the East End. It isn't as jammed with visual pyrotechnics or cool fight sequences but that's OK, because with anything more happening, the movie could induce motion sickness. 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 enjoy playing gangsters as much as American actors love playing cowboys.The biggest misconception about Guy Ritchie is that he cares what the critics think about him - he doesn't. With his wife and his brother-in-law's stupid book in the papers on every other page these days – a steal for its terrific cast alone - he has to be pretty steady on his priorities. From the Banksy-style opening credits, it's clear that Ritchie wants this film to get to you. This is a film that grabs your attention, holds it and, for the bulk of its running time, actually warrants it. With RocknRolla, Ritchie isn't reverting, he's progressing.Don't expect any new tricks. Every character will still be introduced with a trademark flourish, lest our attention wander for a second. There will be an aggressive voice-over hinting at grand schemes gone haywire: this time it's a five-minute disquisition on hedge funds and London's property boom, which is so tragically 2007 (and tedious) you half expect a cameo from Tony Blair. But why should you? Just draw your attention to the flip side of the discussion: (Written in boring bold black and white all along) It's a story of Sex, Thugs and Rock 'n Rolla!

patrick powell You buy a bottle of Guinness, a bar or Lindt dark chocolate or you boil yourself and egg and eat it on toast and you're not going to get many surprises, you'll get what you paid for but you'll enjoy then just the same. Guy Ritchies's gangster films are just like that: you know what you're in for and there ain't a single surprise, but you enjoy them just the same. Ritchie has his formula and it's a winner.When, in the past he's strayed from that formula, he's ended up with egg on his face, so he's best off sticking to his formula: a convoluted plot, a set of stereotypical London gangster, loads of witty one-liners, and all of it presented in a fast-cut style and two hours later you rise from your seat sufficiently entertained. That's it.Ritchie is never going to win an Oscar, never going to gain kudos from 'cineastes', but as long as he delivers the goods - and sticks to his formula - he'll always have an audience. That's it really.

Python Hyena RocknRolla (2008): Dir: Guy Ritchie / Cast: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Thandie Newton, Tom Hardy: Violent gangster type flick about emotional adrenaline. It regards a huge real estate player in London who addresses high profile citizens as pawns. He can make success or disaster arrive to anyone depending where they stand on his level of trust. Directed by Guy Ritchie with the same style he brought to Love, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. This film delivers a playful use of violence as seen in those other films that toys with its entertainment placement. Gerard Butler plays a gangster who gets caught up in a web of crime, deceit and forbidden love until his violent lifestyle becomes the answer. Tom Wilkinson plays the wealthy honcho buying off situations and people until a sudden plot twist has him on the other end of disaster. Mark Strong plays Wilkinson's right hand man who figures out that certain people are not who they seem and he attempts to set the records straight. Thandie Newton plays a contact of sly seduction who double crosses her contact, seduces Butler, and ultimately discovers that her nature can only ploy so long before it catches up to her. Tom Hardy plays a gangster and closet homosexual who may have eyes for the Butler character. Well crafted film that presents gangster type lifestyles as anything but pleasant. Score: 8 / 10