The Gentlemen

Filmmaker Guy Ritchie is one that I'm not very familiar with except from the few works of his that I have seen (Sherlock Holmes and Aladdin (2019)). From what I do know about the general consensus around him is that he built his career into mainstream heights with gangster films such as Snatch and Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels. However, it's been a long time since his last endeavors in that area and his efforts with working on two bad studio movies (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword putting a big stain due to reviews and monetary loss). All of that looked like it pointed out to him that he should return to those gangster roots that launched to begin with. This brings us to his latest project in that genre The Gentlemen, which features a big actor ensemble. The marketing for it was very sparse with only one trailer not doing a solid job to bringing interest but the reviews upon its release were overall positive with the end result. I entered the auditorium ready to see the kind of style Ritchie was famous for in the first place and left it satisfied by the fun experience.

What's it about? The story follows a marijuana kingpin encountering new threats attempting to undermine him following his decision to sell his business in England. The way that was worded out seems simple but the narrative device in this movie is rather fascinating (mostly for the better). It's told in a conversation between a private investigator and the kingpins right-hand man where it's uncovering the details of events that have occurred. It takes a while before the motion is set for the energy to really pick up since they need to establish the key players roles first. But it feel intriguing to see how the puzzle pieces make enough sense to fit together and paying attention to the narrative details is interesting since it's difficult to tell what's fabricated vs actually true.

The only negative holding itself back is how unnecessarily complicated the final 20 minutes get with a last minute twist reveal.

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actors to focus on are Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam and Hugh Grant. McConaughey feels more at home with this wild action comedy as a head honcho with a professional sensibility about himself and his work that honestly demanded a little more screen time from him. Charlie is surprisingly competent here (after his recent string of career bad luck) in a role where he depicts a confidant attempting to keep the peace for his boss and doesn't take anyones nonsense. Hugh is a delightful highlight of a jerk character that's entertaining to watch as he gets under peoples skins with ease (so basically similar to his role in Paddington 2). Honorable mentions go to Colin Farrell for being a welcome presence in this crazy ride of a story.

Overall Consensus: The Gentlemen is an entertaining action crime comedy that's bolstered by a fun narrative for a wild story, solid performances, funny humor, and smooth pacing. ⭑⭑⭑⭑🎟🍿Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes R

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker Guy Ritchie. You enjoy crime comedies that don't take themselves seriously.

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker Guy Ritchie. You dislike crime comedies.