Fantastic Fest Grinder

[ Mood: Embarrased ]
The Other Secret Screening: RocknRolla

(Whoops, I forgot to post this review with the City of Ember review!)

Just when festival fatigue sets in and everyone has weird achy coughs from the all night karaoke party, Guy Ritchie steps in with the paddles and yells "clear!" After some resoundly "meh" movies, Richie turns out a companion piece to the awesome Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and Snatch.

Rockstar Johnny Quid has died again, but London’s underworld is too busy to care. One Two and Mumbles owe old school London godfather Lenny a lot of money. They hook up with a bored accountant to rook Russian real estate mogul Uri out of seven million pounds. Of course, that would be the same money the Russians are handing Lenny to grease the wheels for new construction in the heart of London. Surely One Two and Mumble’s fast repayment must be the result of the lucky painting Uri has loaned Archie. Toss in the theft of said painting, the reemergence of Quid, and some deep, dark secrets, then watch all of the stories collide.

Ritchie may be working with a formula he’s used before, but RocknRolla is thrilling all the way through. The cast is amazingly strong too, even down to the disposable henchmen. Mark Strong (Stardust) as Lenny’s major domo and Toby Kebbell (Control) as Quid are the surprise standouts. I hope that the rumoured sequel, The Real RocknRolla, gets made because Johnny Quid is too cool for one movie.