Plunkett & Macleane

Audience Reviews

View All (263) audience reviews

Maria A I don't understand why this film doesn't have a higher rating. It's not for the faint-hearted, sure, but the story is captivating, the cast is superbe, and the cinematography and the music punctuate the story in a way that's beautiful as it is haunting. I would highly recommend it if you want a film that's a bit different, but an exciting watch nonetheless. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/30/24 Full Review Audience Member This is an issue of style over substance. Only it's not all THAT cool to look at... It's a costume drama/adventure made for the MTV generation. So it tries a little too hard to be cool, but doesn't succeed most of the time... Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/27/20 Full Review Audience Member Basically unwatchable. Filmed like a low budget pop video. I only watched the first 15 minutes and then decided my life was too valuable to waste any more time watching the equivalent of a 1st year undergraduate film project that maybe scraped a low 2nd. The only virtue of this film is an undeserved soundtrack by Craig Armstrong that has been frequently re-used on TV shows, in particular Top Gear. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member While I will admit the movie has its faults, mostly a confusing start that is also visibly confusing (and too dark to see at times) it is much better than the score on here would have people believe. It is one of my favorites of all time as the characters & the charm which they are acted makes up for most of the shortcomings. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member In 1748, England is infested with highwaymen, such as Will Plunkett (Robert Carlyle), a London-based criminal working with a partner. However, very soon his partner Rob is killed by Thief Taker General Chance (Ken Stott), and Plunkett finds himself on the run from the local constabulary. This incident was witnessed by Captain James Macleane (Jonny Lee Miller), who was being taken to a debtor's prison. He also sees Plunkett's partner swallow a ruby, which he sees as his ticket out of debt, and, after narrowly escaping discovery by Chance, he goes to the cemetery and tries to exhume the body and retrieve the ruby. Unknown to him, Plunkett is also waiting there, and he forces Macleane to give the ruby to him. He then also swallows it, as they are both found by Chance's men. They go together to Newgate Prison, and Plunkett realises that, because of Macleane's social rank (he is a member of the gentry class), he can give the ruby to Macleane and he can use his influence to buy them both out of prison. This, despite protests from Macleane, starts a partnership which could be very successful, where they use Macleane's title to get to know the rich, and Plunkett's brains and planning to rob them later on. However, this all goes haywire when Macleane falls for the beautiful Lady Rebecca (Liv Tyler) and lets their secret slip... The chemistry between Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller was of high standard already in "Trainspotting" 3 years prior to "Plunkett & McLeane" and I can see why they casted them both yet again against eachother. "Plunkett & McLeane" is a quite entertaining, fast-paced and modern take on the highwaymen genre. It is a period film, but with a less seriousness to it and with the goal to entertain than rather teach you one or two things about the 1700s. It´s about upper and lower class finding a way to work together to reach their goal that will take them away from their misery to the brave new world. I reckon it has a solid mix of comedy, action, drama with a twist of a lovestory to it. I liked as well the take on using a very modern soundtrack that did actually work within the film. The weak spot is Liv Tyler who can´t seem to really fit in her role in my opinion. Trivia: Plunkett & Macleane was a flop at the box office. The film opened on 1 October 1999 in 475 U.S. theaters, taking in US$244,765 during its first three days; total domestic earnings stand at US$474,900. Despite being panned by the critics, it was acclaimed by worldwide audiences and has gained a very strong cult following. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Not sure what the movie is trying to achieve. Thirty years ago this would have gone straight to video. Poor. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Plunkett & Macleane

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW