It was only a matter of time.
I mean, since bursting onto the scene with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and the almost as good Snatch back in the nineties Guy Ritchie’s filmography has veered from the Ok I guess (Sherlock Holmes) to the too pleased with himself (Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows) to the massive bombs (The Man From U.N.C.L.E./ King Arthur Legend of the Bored) to the unwatchable (Pick one).
And now, after all that you head back to the UK to make a film that’s pretty much back where you started?
Well if i’d just been forced to spend a year working with Disney on one of the worst films of last year (Aladdin) I’d want to retreat to my safe space as well.
And bringing along half of Hollywood to keep you company can’t have helped.
Anyway, for those of you who haven’t seen Mr. Ritchie when he’s in gangster film mode (and you really, really should rectify that ASAP) you have a central plot thread- in this case a British drug lord (Matthew McConaughey) trying to sell off his highly profitable empire to a dynasty of Oklahoma billionaires leads to a massive cast of people all either trying to get their own piece of the pie or simply getting caught up in the actions of others.
Their fast moving, very well made and it’s just a joy to see the characters unknowingly affecting each other at various points and knowingly in others. If there’s one thing this guy can do- it’s keep a lot of plates spinning.
Most of this film is narrated flashback style by Hugh Grant (for reasons known only to himself doing a terrible Jonathon Ross impersonation) and by the time the scene is set the films pretty much half over. But it doesn’t matter as the cast are so varied and colorful that it’s just fun to spend time with them.
I mean yes, the whole thing feels like the scripts been written for the last twenty years and if your not into this type of film then this is probably not going to convert you and apart from a director getting back in touch with his roots and providing his fanbase with a nice nostalgia trip I’d struggle to recommend this over Lock, Stock which is better and can be tracked down online for a few pounds.
But the cast are having fun on set and there was something nice about watching a film like this with it’s dialogue and interlocking characters as well as it’s strong sense of black humor and well crafted story.
Round up some geezers, hit the bar beforehand and enjoy this throwback. Then go home and watch something better whilst hoping it’s not another 20 years before we get something like it again.
My Score- See It
danielsdunkings 