Will Plunkett (Robert Carlyle) And Captain James Macleane (Johnny lee Miller) are two thieves in eighteenth century Britain. The characters are based on two genuine highwaymen of the eighteenth century."Plunkett And Macleane" was filmed at the height of the early popularity of Carlyle he'd made an impression as Begbie in "Trainspotting" and followed that with the hit movie "The Full Monty". Lee Miller hadn't followed up his role as Sick Boy in "Trainspotting" with such roles, but for some reason he was still popular. So re teaming probably seemed like a good idea. Sadly some parts of "Plunkett And Macleane" are so ludicrous I wondered whether it was originally conceived as a spoof comedy, much like the Carry On movie "Don't Lose Your Head" staring Sid James. Alan Cummings certainly seems like he stepped straight out of that movie. Of the two lead actors Carlyle is by far the best actor of the two, and his roguish character Plunkett is the more likable of the two. He gets the best lines and scenes (including a duel) As for Lee Miller's Macleane I'm not sure his character is meant to be as funny as he seems. What makes it more amazing is the dapper dan thief, who fancied himself as a gentleman is based on a real life person. Liv Tyler turns up as a love interest for Lee Miller and to put it bluntly she is a waste of a corset! She is dull bland and lifeless. There are worse ways to spend 90 minutes, but I doubt I'll ever feel the need to revisit this.

I wasn't too sure about this movie when I was about to watch it, and the only reason we saw it was because the release of Mr Nice Guy was delayed once again. That was a little annoying, but for some reason I wanted to see this movie so I managed to talk my friend into it and we went to see it and in the end I really enjoyed it.This movie is about a couple of highwaymen, Plunkett and Maclaine. Plunkett was once an alchemist but after is business failed and his wife died, he took up highway robbery to earn enough money to sail to America. Things were going slow until he ran into Captain Maclaine, a noble who loved to drink, wrench, and gamble - and because of this he had thrown away all of his money and was now in debtor's gaol. Maclaine doesn't want anything to do with Plunkett at first because Maclaine is a noble and Plunkett is a commoner, but reality comes home when Maclaine falls over in front of some nobles and is scorned by them. It is then that he realises that he is no longer in their midsts and is determined to claw his way back.There is also a character named Chance. He is a brutal man whose job is to enforce the law, and he does this by any means possible. At this time there is debate over whether to enact a police force or not - the argument is that a police force will take freedom away from the people - but at this time the people are so poor that they have little freedom anyway; and now the rich are being targeted by Plunkett and Maclaine and none feel safe.Yet they have earned the name of the Gentlemen Highwaymen namely because Maclaine is so nice to the ladies when he robs them. At first he robs the girl that he has fallen for and apologises as he is robbing her, but he has such a smooth mouth that he takes the title with glee and begins to play upon it inciting the imaginations of the noble and the commoners alike. The women swoon over them but the men hate them. Maclaine milks it for all its worth, because he is a man that loves fame, women, and people taking notice of him. Plunkett simply wants to get to America and plans on quitting when he has enough money. Unfortunately that is never going to happen because Maclaine is too interested in stealing Plunkett's money and wasting it. As it is said, there is no honour among thieves.Maclaine does nothing to deserve Plunkett's mercy. At first he manages to get them out of gaol, but as Maclaine becomes more obsessed with his partying, the original goal vanishes. Anyway, Maclaine has no intention of going to America - all of the fun is in England. The women, his legend, and the parties. Plunkett wants a new life while Maclaine simply wants to continue living the life he has. He can't afford it, but that does not matter because he will simply steal more.One final character that I must discuss is Rochester - he is a very quirky character. It is implied, but never stated, that he is bi-sexual. The quote is "do you still swing both ways?"; "No, I swing all ways!" There are numerous suggestions to homosexuality but it is never stated - this is left for our imagination. What we are given though is a class of debaucherers. The nobles live a life far above their means and enjoy it at other people's expense. We see a society here where the poor live in the mud - and this is not hidden as we see Maclaine go from the very poor to the very rich, but even so there is still a dirty feel to the movie - as if the nobles, even though they live is luxury, are still incredibly dirty on the inside.The interesting thing about this movie is that it is set in the 18th century, but the soundtrack is very modern - almost 90's. I can't offer any real explanation except that it worked very well. I really liked this movie, and is one of the best I have seen so far.

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.

I don't want to write too much about the film but basically it's an action/comedy with a little bit of romance thrown in about two men who come together in unlikely circumstances and become highway men together. Fantastic performance by Robert Carlysle and everybody else involved. A brilliant 'baddy' who really makes you hate him. Some great comical lines - actually laugh out loud, amazing action and a great plot. Choice of music and ambiance all fantastic, basically brilliantly directed and brilliants written. I recommend this film to anyone who likes a good British movie or a good bit of action, i don't know why the film never took off, i thought it got no where near as much recognition as it deserved. If for nothing else, watch this film for one of the greatest finale's of all time. Not to give anything away, but this one really get's the heart beating!