Plunkett & Macleane | Rotten Tomatoes

Plunkett & Macleane

R

Released Oct 1, 1999

1 hr. 40 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

24%

29 Reviews

Tomatometer

67%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After meeting in prison in the wake of a botched grave robbery, two strangers from different echelons of English society -- scheming lowlife William Plunkett (Robert Carlyle) and gentleman-debtor Capt. James Macleane (Jonny Lee Miller) -- decide to join forces. The two become highwaymen and set out to steal their way to a life of leisure. But, as their infamy increases, Macleane falls for the beautiful Lady Rebecca (Liv Tyler), and begins to wonder if he should go straight.

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kirsty r

This movie is totally underrated . It has clever humour and a well written story line.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/20/22

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 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 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 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 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 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

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Jake Scott

Director

Robert Carlyle

Plunkett

Jonny Lee Miller

Macleane

Liv Tyler

Lady Rebecca Gibson

Ken Stott

Chance

Michael Gambon

Lord Gibson

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C

Sep 7, 2011

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Empire Magazine

Rated: 2/5

Dec 30, 2006

Full Review

Globe and Mail

Rated: 2/4

Dec 23, 2002

Full Review

Angie Errigo

Radio Times

There are some spirited moments, but this is mostly a chaotic jumble of style over substance.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 6, 2017

Full Review

Michael Dequina

TheMovieReport.com

A rollicking time at the movies, if not exactly enlightening.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 3, 2009

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 1/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

After meeting in prison in the wake of a botched grave robbery, two strangers from different echelons of English society -- scheming lowlife William Plunkett (Robert Carlyle) and gentleman-debtor Capt. James Macleane (Jonny Lee Miller) -- decide to join forces. The two become highwaymen and set out to steal their way to a life of leisure. But, as their infamy increases, Macleane falls for the beautiful Lady Rebecca (Liv Tyler), and begins to wonder if he should go straight.

Director: Jake Scott
Executive Producer: Gary Goldman, Selwyn Roberts, Matthew Stillman, Douglas Urbanski
Screenwriter: Selwyn Roberts, Robert Wade, Charles McKeown
Distributor: USA Films, Gramercy Pictures, Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Gramercy Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 1999, Original
Box Office (Gross USA): $471.4K
Sound Mix: Surround