carbuff
Really fun, really different movie, which is exactly my favorite kind.Excellent acting, excellent costumes, excellent plot, excellent action, excellent production values, and, for a change, it looks like everybody a few hundred years ago was not taking two long hot showers everyday. I honestly hardly noticed the big music thing in this movie that so many people comment on--I guess it was another thing that was really different, but the techno music worked well for me, so I really didn't dwell on it. I have no issues with that sort of poetic license if it fits well into the story, even if it's totally historically inappropriate.Overall, it's strange in a lot of ways, but it's very good entertainment.
yourstruly2010
other than historical accuracy there's nothing really wrong with the film but i was left wanting to see a bit more of a serious less romantic film about English outlaws or highwaymen, why do no such films exist ? there's plenty of outlaws in British history its like there's a genre of films that doesn't even exist that really should Americans have the their westerns Australians have their bush-ranger films we have have plunkett and mcleane ? seriously we need a few outlaw films this proves such films can be made but no English cinema would rather make awful hardman/gangster films that have been passé for a decade anyway.
grendelkhan
Plunkett and Macleane is a wonderful updating of the swashbuckling tradition, predating Johny Depp and his pirate friends. The tone is lighthearted, with a touch of social commentary, but nothing too heavy. One could almost see Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in this.It starts out in low gear, with the introduction of the characters and the establishing of the themes of social inequality and rebellion; but, it kicks into high gear once the boys hit the highways. The robberies are grand and stylish, with romantic touches that are the bread and butter of swashbucklers. The actors are engaging and help elevate the material a bit, which is fairly hollow. There's not much depth to the figures, but they are played with such charm and skill that it doesn't matter.Muh has been said about the modern music. Period music tended to the more serene, which seems out of place. A classical score with Celtic rhythms for the action pieces could work, but the more modern, rebellious rock and techno music seemed to add an edge to the action. Since the characters are more legend than reality, accuracy in the music seems pointless. The pieces tend to fit the mood of the aired scenes, so it mostly works well. I just wonder how they missed Adam Ant's "Stand and Deliver." Make no mistake, this is not a serious film. It's pure escapism and a wonderful lark. Tony Scott shows some of the visual flair of his father, but I don't think we are going to see many Oscar nods in his career just yet. He seems to understand the material here and pulls off a fine film. With time he may prove to be a name to reckon with. His father took a while to mature beyond visual stylization and become a more rounded director. This is definitely one to watch for an entertaining evening or for a swashbuckling film fest.
el-fast
When I went to the video rental store, back in the days when DVD was yet next to unknown to me, I had seen all the movies at the store that I was interested in. Or so I thought! The man behind the counter told me he had something for me that I definitely would like. He gave me "Plunkett and MacLeane". At first, I doubted it to be any good, but I trusted his advise and... man, I sure am happy I did take this jewel along! This is one of the best adventure movies in years, if you ask me! Of course, with Robert Carlyle as a major part, how bad can a movie get? Surely, Liv Tyler does once more what she's good at and nothing much more: being pretty. But still, you can very clearly sense that the cast apparently had a lot of fun, making this movie.
AD
