Rating: 
Summary: Eclectic and dangerous fun
Review: Macleane huddles, singing snatches of drunken song, in the debtor's prison. Hearing a noise, he stands up and peers out the window, just in time to see a wagon wheel hurtling out of the mist with surreal speed towards him. Thus begins "Plunkett and Macleane", a wild, adventurous romp through the 18th century. This movie surprises and treats over and over again. Don't be put off by the grisly disinterment that takes place within the first ten minutes of the film. Stick with it. I've been a fan of Robert Carlyle since I saw "The Full Monty". In fact, I neglected to mention him as one of the perks of the movie when I reviewed "Ravenous". The part of Will Plunkett is one that he plays with relish and realism. He and Jonny Lee Miller's Macleane have a love/hate relationship from the start, but somewhere along the way a real friendship develops. They form a partnership in which Macleane, an upper-class clergyman's son fallen on hard times, finds out where the rich pickings are. Then, as the "Gentleman Highwayman", he and Plunkett "rob the rich...and that's it." The supporting cast features: Ken Stott, as an absolutely despicable adversary; Liv Tyler (one of the few weak spots in the film, in my opinion; she's pretty but her character lacks depth); and a thoroughly delicious Alan Cumming. Perhaps Cumming is getting a bit typecast (he played the same sort of role in "Titus"), but he's just so good at it! Several reviewers have already mentioned the ball scene with the techno-electronica music. It's surprising, but it works. Think of "Orlando", another movie that took an unorthodox approach to score music. At times this movie is like a long version of the Adam Ant video "Stand and Deliver", and parts of it are anachronistic, but it's a LOT of fun.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best films I've seen in a LONG time...
Review: Plunkett & Macleane is a well directed and visually stunning film with a killer soundtrack. On the verge of being hilariously grotesque along the lines of "Trainspotting" yet intriguing in a dramatic sense, this movie shines where the others don't. The setting of London is portrayed nearly perfect for the time period where the two thieves steal just because they can. The soundtrack that backs the drama & action is beautifully composed by Craig Armstrong, who gives it a classical feeling with the tinge of electronica overtones. Overall, this movie rocks.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Mixed Film
Review: Plunkett & Macleane was a film I have never heard of but I rented it because the Trainspotting boys were together again. Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Caryle played out their role extremely well. It was action filled and seductive as well. I highly recommend this film to anyone who comes across it!
Rating: 
Summary: Predictable, Brainless Fun
Review: Robert Carlyle and Johnny Lee Miller are great actors, and they do an admirable job with this piece of period pulp. They've both been in better movies, but seem to have had a particlarly good time making this one. I guess that robbing the rich is more fun for them than being heroine junkies in "Trainspotting." Liv Tyler is pretty as always, and she's a good actress as well, but her role in this film is shallow and lackluster - something that should be attributed to the screenplay, not her. This is a modern day swashbuckler where the good guys are outlaws and the bad guy (Ken Stott) is just a truly manipulative, nasty person. There's nothing really original about this film, but it is fun to watch and shows promise for Jake Scott as a director. It doesn't aspire to greatness, so it's easy to grant a little leeway. You probably won't find anybody saying that it's the best movie they've seen but they certainly won't say that it's awful. The DVD is a bit weak on added features - the featurette does not include anything that you couldn't really get out of the movie on your own. It is, however, kind of interesting to see the difference between the UK and the US trailers for the film. Overall, a decent rental.
Rating:
Summary: Charmingly Good Fun.
Review: Small time thief Will Plunkett (Robert Carlyle) teams up with aristocrat James Macleane (Johnny Lee Miller) to rob from the rich, using thier combined social connections and criminal knowhow to become "The Gentleman Highwayman". But when Macleane falls in love with the daughter of their unbelievably wealthy victims (Liv Tyler), things get a little out of hand. Plunkett and Macleane is tremendous, charming fun in a superbly old fashioned way. It is a movie that deserves praise for its performances, direction and memorable dialogue. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A Real Sleeper
Review: Sophomoric, in my mind, means manipulative - visually, verbally, and through the pacing and continuity. This movie is not sophomoric. This has to be one of the most maturely realised and under-recognised films in recent film history. To whatever extent there is a modernism in the styling of the characters, there is also a remarkable restraint and authenticity in portraying the psychological tone of the time - in every social class and role, and the subtleties as well as the vulgarities of the social interactions. Read up on the period. This was SPOT ON. Affected Dandies did exist. The f**k word was absolutely in common usage. This film may be a lot more accurate than us moderns may want to admit. The cinematography is consistently superb. The acting and character development almost exceptional. Lighting, continuity... all first rate.
Rating:
Summary: 18th C meets 20th C meets Alan Cummings in make up?
Review: Starting in a dingy English drunk pen, you may easily mistake this for an every day, run-of-the mill medieval type yarn. However you'd be very much mistaken. 18th century scenery give way to 20th century language (Hence the 15 certificate). A fast paced plot bring together Plunkett (Carlyle) an ex-apothecarist and violent type, with Macleane, a pauper who desperately wants to be a gentleman. Together they create a crime wave, 'robbing from the rich and that's it' An all round gem of a film, with several notable stand alone scenes, foremost of which is the dance scene. Incredible outfits in a beautiful 18th century ballroom to the sounds of drum, bass and keyboard. Truly a unique turn on what could easily have been another tired old ball. All actors put on sterling performances both the 'good guys' and the 'baddies'. Great script, superb costumes, a marvellous film.
Rating:
Summary: HIP HIP HUZZAH !!!
Review: Superb and superb again! Jake Scott has not made a documentary, he has taken us for a look into the 18th century, and has slapped us against the lens of Hogarth to do it. Anachronisms? Yes! They illustrate for him, he has laid them in our path like beacons, they aren't mistakes! We are all awash with them, they have to be made into tools; I know this, having been an 18th century re-enactor for many years. Plunkett and Macleane shimmers and stinks, is glorious and gory. The genius here is not just that he takes the viewer with him into Hogarth's land, it is that he leaves us there.
Rating:
Summary: a good film...
Review: that was ruined by its sound track. It's sad really, I almost would have really liked it. I may have been inclined to give it five stars if the sound track hadn't totally destroyed it.
Rating:
Summary: A mixed review...
Review: The big-screen debut of director Scott, whose only other directorial credit is the short-lived television series "The Hunger," is the son of the sometimes-brilliant Ridley Scott. Reuniting Carlyle (who charmed the world in *The Full Monty*) and Miller, who appeared together in *Trainspotting*, it is a somewhat disjointed affair that can be a pleasure to watch, nonetheless. With spectacular art direction, and some dazzling effects, the camerawork can be dizzying as well as captivating. Scott interjects certain modern elements of music and cinematic that can have a jarring effect in this period piece. Aside from a deplorable title (the name sounds too much like *Tango and Cash* or *Turner and Hooch*), this tale of an ill-matched pair of highwaymen, as lush and romantic as it is, leaves something to be desired. With elements of *Robin Hood*, *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid*, as well as *Batman*, it is an ambitious undertaking.The leads seem to do their best, and are engaging as the rogues, but the story rapidly becomes preposterous and you often find yourself wondering if you missed something. Then there's Liv Tyler. What can we say about Liv? That she's very good for her age? That someday she may be a fine actress? The truth of the matter is, that except for her lineage (such as it is), she is only one of the flood of lovely and somewhat inept starlets that have had a brief moment of attention lately. Always a pleasure to look at, she would do well to introduce a new facial expression (or two) into her repertoire. Alan Cumming, who won the Tony for his portrayal of the emcee in *Cabaret*, is flamboyantly superb as Lord Rochester, Claire Rushbrook has a gem of a role as the wealthy and syphilitic Lady Estelle, and Ken Stott is despicable as the sadistic chief of police. Shot in Prague, Spain and London, the locations serve the film perfectly, but the pop-synth music is at odds with the period, and even though it occasionally adds excitement, overall, it's distracting. Not a bad debut, overall, and a hint of the surprises Scott has in store for us.
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