RocknRolla reeks of greatness and rates an eight

Michael Jordan was at the peak of his game in the mid-90's; league scoring leader, Finals MVP, fresh off his first championship three-peat. Then he retired from the game of basketball and had a brief stint at professional baseball. It was sad and sports enthusiast alike mourned the loss. Conversely, we celebrated his return to the NBA, which led to another series of championships and an incomparable legacy.

Granted this isn't basketball, and Guy Ritchie is not Michael Jordan. The moral of the story: some people should stick to the niche they have mastered and perfect it like no one else has or can. On that note, welcome back Guy Ritchie.

Mr. Ritchie had instant success with 1998's release "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" and followed-up with "Snatch" in 2000. Justifiably recognized for producing entertaining gangster movies, Ritchie uses fast-paced dialogue, quick action, hard music, and aggressive editing as staples of success. Yet, since 2000 he has had a couple of seasons playing baseball, per se. Here we are in 2008, celebrating the relief of "RocknRolla," sighing in relief, "Welcome back, Guy Ritchie."

The latest release is nothing different than what he provided in his previously mentioned successes. There is a random artifact that every character seeks for one reason or another, wrapped in an web of intricate plot, witty dialogue, and outrageous characters, stapled in the medium of British humor, and anchored to underground crime.

"RocknRolla" on mere premise, is about a crooked land deal, involving Russian monsters and crooked politicians and is all connected to a renegade rock star that has been proclaimed dead.

So the hunt is on; for the rocker, the money, and a "lucky painting."

There are no spoilers in this review. In general I try not to ruin anything, but especially on this one.

What I can say is that the cast is great. There are key recognizable performances by Gerard Butler ("300") and Thandie Newton ("Crash") but the screen is not dominated by any sole character.

Jeremy Piven and Ludacris supply more familiar faces which makes the film friendlier to American audiences, hence more sellable. Being that it is a British-based film, in content and setting, a great deal of the authenticity relies on unfamiliar British actors.

The accents are not on the same level as "Snatch," which is probably a good thing for some people, just to make sure they have a better chance of understanding the script.

I hope that audiences appreciate all that the movie provides. The wordplay is witty and the action is entertaining, but not without purpose. Twists and turns, and classic Guy Ritchie art, "RocknRolla" is fun.

There even is the moment of character narration and preaching of logic, juxtapose a scene of opposing content that highlights and validates the speech and purpose.

The narration and perspective are just as "Snatch" and the characters' continuous comments make sense of and enhance the action. All these elements are set to a high-energy soundtrack that varies throughout the film. It's like the characters of "Snatch" are playing Rockband.

I personally like British humor, specifically Ritchie's brand of humor. Some may say that it's full of random elements, and I will admit, there are rather uncommon things that are just as random as they are familiar. For instance, "Wang Chung" playing on a radio in the background of one scene, or the Anthony Hopkins film "Remains of the Day" on the tele in another.

These are elements that are random to the average American watcher only because the average cinema does not incorporate them. Yet they are very recognizable things that one can appreciate. It's like hearing an old song on the radio, or flipping through the channels and finding an old favorite movie, or watching Michael Jordan win his sixth title and reliving the moment. Welcome back, Guy Ritchie.

On a 10 point scale, "RocknRolla" is an 8.