"RocknRolla" is one of those quick-turn, fast-paced, web-of-deceit movies that can be hard to follow, and even harder to explain. Written and directed by Guy Ritchie, "RocknRolla" starts off with the same sort of smarmy, self-congratulatory feel as the similar "Ocean's Eleven" series. Both feature large, ensemble-casts playing out fast-paced, criminal-scheme twist-ups. But while the template feels very similar, the contents prove quite different. "

RocknRolla" may start out feeling like a smarmy, fast-paced exercise in shallow glorification of criminality and violence, but the characters actually manage to become more complex and interesting along with the plot, and people you can barely keep track of in the beginning start to seem like old friends. It could be the "British-ness" of the whole production, but there's just something inherently more charming about these criminals that makes them more likable.

"?Mike Robertson 

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