Guy Ritchie has been getting a bad rap ever since the his impressive double header of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch turned into the double whammy of becoming Mr. Madonna in 2000 and directing Swept Away in 2002. Ritchie was quickly heading for the bargain bin after that romantic comedy became a universal joke, topped as a target of derision perhaps only by Gigli. He returned to gangster fare with Revolver in 2005, but even with star and Ritchie alumnus Jason Statham, the film wasn’t well-received. So here we are three years later with yet another gangster-studded film, RocknRolla, this time with posterboy Gerard Butler in a leading role.

Well, the good news is that this marks a return to the London underbelly that was laid down by Lock and Snatch: RocknRolla could rightfully be called the third film in a Ritchie trilogy. The bad news is that it’s a whole lot of flash and not much substance. Not that people go to Ritchie’s films expecting a dissertation on the human condition, but his movies do at least require you to follow along closely due to their labyrinthine plots. RocknRolla is no different, and although Butler seems to be the face of the film, he’s simply part of a large ensemble cast, and not the strongest player.

The basic plot of the film involves One-Two (Butler) and his partner Mumbles (Idris Elba) as two low-rent hoods who spot a good real estate investment. They partner with a mob boss (Tom Wilkinson) with deep pockets to get things rolling, but he turns around and double-crosses them, and they owe him some serious dough. Meanwhile, the same mob boss gets involved with a Russian billionaire in a similar real estate deal. The Russian’s accountant (Thandie Newton) steps in and double crosses the Russian, and so you’ve got your basic mafia triangle of X owes money to Y who owes money to Z.

As it turns out, the Russian loans his mystical good luck painting to the mob boss as a show of good faith, and this painting soon becomes the focus of the film once it is stolen by the mob boss’ stepson, Johnny Quid. The rest of the film turns into a search for the painting, which moves from character A to B to C with fluid ease, and there’s a violent conclusion that ties everything up, for the most part.

The main problem with the film is that you just don’t care for most of the main characters, which isn’t that surprising when you consider a cast this large. However, The Big Chill also has a large cast, and you certainly care for people in that movie. (Also, I’ve just realized that comparing a Guy Ritchie movie to The Big Chill is probably one of the signs of the impending apocalypse.)

The real stars of the film are Toby Kebbell, who plays the heroin-thin rockstar Johnny Quid in a loving homage to Sid Vicious (or to Gary Oldman in Sid & Nancy); Tom Wilkinson as the chrome-domed, Ray-Ban wearing crime boss Lenny Cole; and Mark Strong as Archie, Lenny’s right-hand enforcer. Honestly, you could have replaced Butler’s character with a dozen different actors, and these three actors would have shone just as brightly, despite being in an ensemble piece.

Not that Butler isn’t competent. His portrayal of the criminal who just can’t seem to get things right isn’t nearly as over the top as King Leonidas, and he’s at his best in this movie when not in an action heavy vignettes. There’s an amusing scene where Thandie Newton and Butler are dancing at a wannabe rave thrown by Newton’s posh (but gay) husband. Their dancing is about on par with Marcia Brady’s “thumb dance” from The Brady Bunch. You can’t hear them over the din of the party, so you’re treated with cartoonish subtitles throughout the scene.

Most of the humor in the movie comes from a pair of Russian hitmen who just won’t die, no matter what happens to them in one of the most amusing chase sequences I’ve ever seen, and from the awkward situation Butler’s character is put in after his best mate and fellow hood Handsome Bob confesses his love to him. Ritchie from the Lock, Stock days probably wouldn’t have approached a scene (and the ensuing scenes in which Butler may, or may not have helped his buddy out before a prison stint) seriously, but the 2008 version of the director decided it could be both amusing and touching.

Ritchie told us that this film is meant to have at least one sequel, and you can read all about that in our upcoming interview. If Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels still stands as Ritchie’s strongest film, with Snatch in second place, RockNRolla feels like a strong third in this trinity, and returns Ritchie to form. At the very least, it’s a fun leadup to Sherlock Holmes.