Plunkett and Maclean is nothing if not original. It would appear that some bright spark thought it would be a great idea to create a period caper movie in a modern style and then developed a story to fit. Unfortunately it would appear that this bright spark thought the originality of the initial concept was enough to carry the movie...it wasn't.
The basic synopsis of the film is fairly promising - a common criminal teams up with a more gentlemanly rogue to form a highway robbery partnership in 18th Century England. The reasoning for this collaboration is that the gentleman, Maclean (Jonny Lee Miller), can use his more aristicratic demeanor to target rich victims and the more experienced thief Plunkett (Robert Carlyle) can lead the robberies. Of course, at the start of the film, Plunkett is the more hardened criminal with little morality and little care for anyone but himself, whilst Maclean is the aristocrat who more than likes a drink and a healthier diet of gambling and women. That is pretty much were the characterisation begins and ends for the leads and despite the inevitable shift in their attitudes during the film they both remain fairly one-dimensional. Carlyle and Miller perform about as well as can be expected with the script they have been given and at times lift the film above its shortcomings. The supporting cast also outperform the script, particularly Alan Cumming as the foppish Rochester, who despite being a bit of a stereotype provides some well-needed entertainment. Liv Tyler does not have a massive amount to do in the film, but what she does do is passable, if a little lazy. The bad guy, Mr Chance, is played by Ken Stott and although his acting is fine, I never really took him that seriously...he seemed to have something missing.
This film manages to waste almost all of the potential of the basic storyline and fails to develop the characters in an interesting way. Plunkett and Maclean begin by disliking each other and only team up for mutual benefit. Inevitably however, the begin to warm to each other, but the viewer is not really given a solid reason why this is the case. The dialogue is extremely limited and the effing and blinding that appears rife in British films post 'Lock Stock...' is present.
As for the production design, its an admirable attempt to bring a period film into the 21st Century and at least it is not another tired period drama. The costume and set design works quite well, if a little artificial and although it is hardly realistic to 18th Century London, its certainly refreshing. On the other hand, the musical style does not appear to work - somehow the MTV score appears disjointed against the action and will probably date extremely quickly.
In summary, this is not an appalling film. It lacks depth, but there is enough action to prevent you nodding off, and its sufficiently different to warrant a viewing when you have little else to do. If you do not expect too much you will not be disappointed.
The basic synopsis of the film is fairly promising - a common criminal teams up with a more gentlemanly rogue to form a highway robbery partnership in 18th Century England. The reasoning for this collaboration is that the gentleman, Maclean (Jonny Lee Miller), can use his more aristicratic demeanor to target rich victims and the more experienced thief Plunkett (Robert Carlyle) can lead the robberies. Of course, at the start of the film, Plunkett is the more hardened criminal with little morality and little care for anyone but himself, whilst Maclean is the aristocrat who more than likes a drink and a healthier diet of gambling and women. That is pretty much were the characterisation begins and ends for the leads and despite the inevitable shift in their attitudes during the film they both remain fairly one-dimensional. Carlyle and Miller perform about as well as can be expected with the script they have been given and at times lift the film above its shortcomings. The supporting cast also outperform the script, particularly Alan Cumming as the foppish Rochester, who despite being a bit of a stereotype provides some well-needed entertainment. Liv Tyler does not have a massive amount to do in the film, but what she does do is passable, if a little lazy. The bad guy, Mr Chance, is played by Ken Stott and although his acting is fine, I never really took him that seriously...he seemed to have something missing.
This film manages to waste almost all of the potential of the basic storyline and fails to develop the characters in an interesting way. Plunkett and Maclean begin by disliking each other and only team up for mutual benefit. Inevitably however, the begin to warm to each other, but the viewer is not really given a solid reason why this is the case. The dialogue is extremely limited and the effing and blinding that appears rife in British films post 'Lock Stock...' is present.
As for the production design, its an admirable attempt to bring a period film into the 21st Century and at least it is not another tired period drama. The costume and set design works quite well, if a little artificial and although it is hardly realistic to 18th Century London, its certainly refreshing. On the other hand, the musical style does not appear to work - somehow the MTV score appears disjointed against the action and will probably date extremely quickly.
In summary, this is not an appalling film. It lacks depth, but there is enough action to prevent you nodding off, and its sufficiently different to warrant a viewing when you have little else to do. If you do not expect too much you will not be disappointed.