“RocknRolla. You know you want to be one.” Director Guy Ritchie marks his return to the London gangster scene with yet another convoluted story in which the fast-paced action is only equaled by the sparkly, cheeky dialog that can be funny and serious at the same time. Commercially unfeasible but critically well received, “RocknRolla” takes viewers and immerses them into a beautiful but corrupted London, where mobsters rule the streets in style.

After the critical disappointment that “Revolver” (2005) was, the director once known solely as Mister Madonna manages to redeem his reputation as a swift and talented – albeit one-note – moviemaker. “RocknRolla” stands as proof of his seemingly constant effort of turning himself into some sort of British Quentin Tarantino, it has been said, managing to take moviemaking into the realm of art, where it is supposed to belong. “RocknRolla” has anything it takes to make for a real piece of art, from a spectacular cast to the jaw-dropping verbosity, and audacity, but that is not to say that it doesn’t have weak points too.

Tom Wilkinson is Lenny Cole, an old-school gangster who has almost the entire city (and its councilors) in his back pocket. Cruel to the extreme, but graceful at the same time, Lenny is the emperor of the streets of London, and has managed to stand the test of time as regards his supremacy with the aid of his right-hand man Archy (Mark Strong). Yet, “times are changing,” and a Russian mobster also wants a piece of the delicious-looking pie that London is. Uri Omovich (Karel Roden) may seem harmless for the somewhat-conceited Lenny, but his agenda also includes assuming control over the city, no matter the kind of opposition he might face.

Then there’s The Wild Bunch. With a name reminiscent of the outlaw cowboys that once terrorized the West and a reputation to match, the group is as laughable as it is dangerous if messed with. One Two (Gerard Butler), Mumbles (Idris Elba) and Handsome Bob (Tom Hardy) spend most of their time playing cards and cracking childish jokes when they’re not pulling jobs, yet they are extremely dangerous if the right buttons are pushed. Which is exactly what Thandie Newton (Stella) does, an icy, beautiful accountant working for Uri, but also looking out for her best (financial) interest. It’s Stella who ties all three groups together, weaving their stories together with her unlimited ambition and seemingly impenetrable femme-fatale charm. And a painting.

Enter Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell), the real RocknRolla, a junkie and a rock star who stages his own death to boost sales, a trick he often pulls on the world (“If he’s dead, it’s the third time this year!”). Quid is an artist at heart, which is why he falls in love with the painting the first time he lays eyes on it and is forced to steal it, but a madman on the outside. He, just like The Wild Bunch boys, the Russian and Lenny, can do the most unspeakable acts of violence without even blinking, and inflict terrible pain upon anyone who stands in the way of what he wants, be that a pint of beer or gaining entrance in a nightclub.

It’s precisely here that Ritchie truly manages to shine, thus compensating for the twisted plotline that can sometimes prove too taxing on the viewer. The violence in “RocknRolla” is swift, but not in the way a blow to the head from behind would be. The director takes pleasure in depicting pain and injuries, as also do all the characters he breathes life into in the film.

All cease to be just goofy men playing play-pretend in their obvious refusal to grow up, and become these killer machines who stand as proof that man doesn’t know his (physical) limits until they’re being pushed. Then, they return to their previous state of child-like gangsters (small-time or not), much to the delight of the audience.

The only thing that can equal the fight scenes in “RocknRolla” is the brilliant dialog. Ritchie has always had a penchant for snappy comebacks and funny lines interspersed in the most unlikely moments (his bad-boys will always make jokes or turn on the sarcasm when faced with the most gruesome of deaths), but he takes that and perfects it in his most recent film. In this sense, together with the overt attention to all the details of a fight, he does manage to rise to the high standard set by Tarantino, if that is a comparison he has ever coveted.

“RocknRolla,” like most Guy Ritchie films, ends by revealing the unseen threads that connect all his characters together and, from this perspective, it’s somehow anticlimactic because it shows the director is set on a pattern that he might never break, or want to, for that matter. Brutal but funny, well constructed yet flawed, and with a soundtrack that will certainly get the adrenaline pumping if the fight scenes fail, this by-now-familiar ode to the macho British gangster that is “RocknRolla” makes for a wonderful viewing experience – but only for Ritchie’s fans.

Running 114 minutes, “RocknRolla” was released nationwide in the US in October 2008. It reached Spain in January 2009, Japan in February, and will end its run in Italy, where it drops on April 24.

The Good

Guy Ritchie has a very loyal fanbase, even if somewhat small, as compared to other famous directors in Hollywood. For these fans, “RocknRolla” is the utmost proof that the British director is a genius behind the camera, if the topic he’s interested in is gangster life. Funny, brilliantly shot and edited together, and with a cast that can put to shame most Hollywood productions, “RocknRolla” will get hearts racing – that much is guaranteed.

The Bad

Critics agree that, while very talented and highly creative, when it comes to his work, Guy Ritchie does not tread past a set of limits he himself has imposed. In this sense, they say, “RocknRolla” is only a remake of the much better “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” (1998), with a different cast and a bit more exaggeration on the side. The twisted plot, the two-dimensional characters and the many stereotypes thrown in seemingly at random work against “RocknRolla,” preventing “laymen” from enjoying it and getting acquainted with Ritchie.

The Truth

“RocknRolla” is a great film, as all niche movies are. It requires plenty of humor and intelligence to fully enjoy it, but also patience and some tolerance to overlook Ritchie’s slip-ups. Overall, “RocknRolla” has been unjustly ignored by the public ever since release, even if critics can’t seem to stop singing its praise.