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Whilst RocknRolla shares a number of elements with Guy Ritchie's pervious films "Lock, Stock and Twitter Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch", it doesn't quite have the humour and quotability of his earlier works.

A Stella cast revel in this London Underworld story of drugs, paintings, dodgy property deals and robberies.

With his recent return to the genre with "The Gentlemen", this is well worth checking out if you missed it first time around.

Like other reviewers, I find Guy Ritchie very watchable. His cockney criminals are a delight to watch, all of them killing a human as easily as they might a fly and delivering punchlines all the way. Rirchie's screenplay brims with action and razor sharp dialogue for the first hour, then - very sadly - it loses direction.

The blueprint for ROCKNROLLA was SNATCH (UK, 2000), probably Ritchie's best, most rounded effort, with characters that pop out of the screen.

ROCKNROLLA does not quite match that highly original early Ritchie flick, it is unfortunately too long by easily 20 minutes, and its characters by and large do not stand out as much.

That said, Butler and Hardy make unlikely lovers who double up as criminals, Butler and Thandie have the briefest, least passionate love scene I have watched in some time, a real damp squib, and Tom Wilkinson as the fiendish Lenny Cole, Idris Elba as the ever supportive sidekick to Butler, and Mark Strong as the irrepressible Archy really steal the show.

Great cinematography, action sequences by David Higgs.

This is a typical Guy Ritchie film. With a wide range of characters and some very powerful performances to random shots making you wonder where the story is headed but just in time to converge in one final showdown leaving you with just word.. WOW!! I can't help but compare it to SNATCH..as they are similar in so many ways...but SNATCH was much more intense, funny and a better script.

Some very fine performances from Gerard Butler from 300, Tom Wilkinson from Michael Clayton but what really surprised me was outstanding performance by Toby Kebbell. His subtle dialogue and crazy laughter really spells horror and magic at the same time. The story takes you through the world of mafia and spins all dramatic sequences with blood, deceit and loads of humor. The scene where Gerard and his gang escape from the two Russian militants... that scene made me laugh like crazy.

I just loved this movie and i can't wait to see the sequel.

Guy Ritchie's latest venture into the gangster genre feels a bit like déjà vu, doesn't it? I mean, the man's got a knack for weaving tales of theft and deception, but it's starting to feel a tad repetitive after he knocked it out of the park with two stellar flicks in the same vein.

Remember "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"? That was a riot, mainly because of the quirky characters Ritchie cooked up. Then came "Snatch," which had its own brand of hilarity. But now, with "RocknRolla," it's like he's taken a dash of both those films and whipped up another batch. The characters are intriguing, sure, but the plot feels like it's been recycled, and things can get a bit messy along the way. Plus, the vibe's a tad darker this time, and the laughs aren't as frequent.

But hey, let's give credit where it's due. Technically speaking, the movie's still top-notch. And can we talk about the cast? Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, Tom Wilkinson, Gerard Butler-talk about a lineup! Butler, especially, shines in those dance scenes with Thandie Newton and Tom Hardy.

So, yeah, "RocknRolla" is a decent flick, no denying that. It's just that the whole gangster shtick feels a bit worn out by now, you know?

When a land deal goes wrong for One Two (Gerard Butler) and Mumbles (Idris Elba) they have to steal seven large to pay back underworld fixer Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson). Aided by accountant Stella (Thandie Newton) they make the hit and think that's the end of the matter. Only it isn't because now the can is open and there is worms every where. Worms involving a shady Russian business man, his favourite painting and a junkie rock star who keeps on dying!.

It's interesting viewing RocknRolla now just after Guy Ritchie's reinvention of Sherlock Holmes has put him back on the flavour of the month list. For at the time of its release Ritchie was on the back of a couple of critical bombs and was of course then known as Mr Madonna. The press and the film critics seemingly revelling in giving the bright director a good old cockney kicking after putting him on a pedestal with the success of the Lock, Stock and Snatch movies. Don't get me wrong, Swept Away is awful and Revolver, while not being the cess pool of vomit some would have you believe, is just too much labyrinthine plotting around a poor narrative story. But had Ritchie lost his mojo in 2008? Is it true that he got lucky with his cockernee gangster forays?.

Well what we know to be true is that Ritchie is comfortable back on the shady London manor that is at the heart of RocknRolla. Cynics will say he has played safe and returned to the formula that made him. Yeah, so what? A return to form is a return to form is it not? Besides which, if one is prepared to delve deep and examine RocknRolla, you will find that it's more polished than both Lock, Stock and Snatch; with a far better cast of actors able to fully realise the zippy structure and material of the piece. No! Ritchie is no great story teller yet, and judging by the plot of Sherlock Holmes, he's unable to spot a duff story either. Yet the vigour, vibrancy, and all round geezerness of RocknRolla is bountiful as a ream of charismatic characters all have stories within the story. Ritchie returning to gangland territory with guns, gags and sexual energy is a good thing. It really is.

The cast are uniformly strong. The roll call contains Mark Strong, Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Tom Hardy, Thandie Newton, Jeremy Piven, Jimmy Mistry, Idris Alba, Chris Bridges and Gemma Arteton. All of whom seem to enjoy being in "that type" of Guy Ritchie movie. But it's Toby Kebbell as junkie rock star Johnny Quid that shines the brightest. He's no stranger to fans of harder edged British cinema, his brilliant turn in Dead Man's Shoes often gets forgotten because of Paddy Considine's much lauded turn in that film. While Wilderness, and then Control, further pushed him forward as a major British talent. Here he covers many bases in character while the material lets him slyly dig at the music industry and link it feral like to the underworld. A terrific turn from a terrific young actor.

With a kicking soundtrack that includes the likes of The Clash, The Hives, The Subways, Lou Reed and The Sonics, it's not just the crime caper plot that positively pings. There's some links to Pulp Fiction, a painting we never see echoes the running suitcase gag, while a wonderful dance sequence between Butler and Newton of course nods to Uma & John. But it's fine, this is Ritchie's world and its fun, sexy and cunningly dangerous. 8/10