The Gentlemen

At first I thought it started a little slowly but in hindsight it was just right. A perfect execution of a classic British gangster film epitomised by a charismatic Colin Farrell who stole every scene he entered and left me crying out for a coach spin off. All in all very enjoyable classic guy ritchie film.

Aside from a few very marketable films like "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" and "Aladdin", Guy Ritchie is a writer/director who makes incredibly violent films. That is, incredibly violent films which are also brilliantly constructed and near perfect. While I rarely ever watch violent films, I eagerly look for his next dark British crime film, after seeing his "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch"....and so it's not surprising I'd see "The Gentlemen". And, like these other films, it's near perfect...and a film you ought to see if you have the stomach for this sort of story.

So this leads me to a huge warning. This is NOT a family-friendly film nor one you want to show your mother or Father Jenkins if he stops by for a visit. There's ample cursing, loads of violence, vomit galore, and the story is about bad people...very bad people.

The story is complicated...and goes together like a finely crafted puzzle. It concerns a marijuana czar in Britain, Michael Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) and his desire to sell out and retire to a life of ease and sophistication. However, after making an offer to a rival drug kingpin, suddenly everything goes haywire....folks start dying, farms growing the stuff are hit and an all-out war seems inevitable. There's WAY more to the story than this...but since it's so complex, it's best you just see it to appreciate it.

The bottom line is that Guy Ritchie can write and direct amazing films...and this one is truly amazing and entertaining. Apart from his misguided vanity project, "Swept Away", his output has been impressive and I cannot stress enough what a quality product this film is. My only MINOR quibble is what about the Russian mobster.....what happens with him? This isn't really dealt with in the film and seems a bit like a dangling plot point.

Has there ever been a bad performance in a Guy Ritchie movie? If there has I haven't noticed it. He has an ornate ability to take average actors and make them great, and to take already great actors and get even more out of them. There are a few directors around who specialise in this but Ritchie is right near the top. The cast in 'The Gentlemen' is admittedly fantastic, but it doesn't change the fact that they are an absolute treat to watch. Matthew McConaughey is in his element in a role that he was born to play, Charlie Hunnam plays one of the coolest characters I've seen perfectly, Colin Farrell is hilarious and ridiculously cool as well and then Hugh Grant gives one of the best performances I've ever seen from him. In fact Grant was so good I didn't even recognise his voice and had to wonder if they'd dubbed it. They hadn't, he'd just nailed it.

The style this movie possesses is just so much fun to watch. If you've seen any of Ritchie's previous similar films ('Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', 'Snatch', 'RocknRolla') then you know what I'm talking about. The pacing moves at lightning speed, the dialogue is quick, clever and deeper than you first realise and the conflict is always multi-layered. This one is actually told in quite a unique way with a couple of characters going over events that have already happened and it works masterfully. It breaks the story up and gives room for creativity in the story-telling process and also humour.

Every time I see that Ritchie has made a movie that isn't a crime-thriller I get a little disappointed. It's not that the other stuff he's doing is bad ('Swept Away' being an obvious exception), it's just that he is so damn good as this style of movie. He's the best in the business and if he only did these for the rest of his career I'd be a very happy man. This is an excellent movie well worth your time and money.

Matthew McConaughey, who has become one of the major players in the British weed trade through science, paying poor noblemen to let him stash his farms on their property, and a judicious amount of leg-breaking, thinks it's time to retire. He offers to sell his business to a fellow entrepreneur for £400,000,000, but other people in the illegal fun trade have their own agendas.

Guy Ritchie has returned to his early themes of violence, chaos, and rock&roll from his early career, and has scored a definite hit, with some fine performances, including a blank-faced one by Charlie Hunnam and an outsized comedy turn by Colin Farrell. Hugh Grant does well as the unwanted on-screen narrator of events, putting them into some order; I am impressed by his lack of a posh accent, event as I wished Ritchie had been able to think of a better way of telling the audience the story.

Even with that cavil, the unceasing action and insanity kept me more than interested throughout.

Classic Guy Ritchie movie. Never a dull moment. Slowly eases into the story and takes it to great Crescendo. The plot twists at every turn with few loyalties kept intact all along the movie.

Colin Farrell steals the show. He is the surprise of the movie. Has a role lasting only a few minutes, but outshines entire cast single-handedly.

Matthew Mcconnaughey and Charlie Hunnam give their usual best and look awesome doing so. Hugh Grant exposes new part of his acting repertoire.

Part of the movie is shot in our Arsenal stadium. Special brownie points for that.

Watch it for classic Guy Ritchie stuff.