The Gentlemen review

THE GENTLEMEN: 

GUY RITCHIE ADDS HIS FLAIR TO A REMARKABLY CLEVER AND VERY FUNNY CAPER! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

STX FILMS AND MIRAMAX

Matthew McConaughey and Michelle Dockery in The Gentlemen

            After botching the legendary King Arthur story and the beloved Disney classic Aladdin, director Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Sherlock Holmes 1 and 2, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) goes back to basics in The Gentlemen, the new crime comedy film that follows in the footsteps of the 2000 movie that earned him so much recognition, Snatch. This is the long-awaited return to old school Guy Ritchie filmmaking that all started with Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrelsand Snatch, the same Guy Ritchie we know and love…not the kind that directs a blue Will Smith and a really awkward portrayal of Jafar. 

            From the smart and quotable dialogue, non-linear plot structure, colorful cast of characters, and a clever and unique way to tell the story with editing on par with an Edgar Wright comedy, which actually works quite well with this movie. Aside from seeing the trailer a few times in theaters, I didn’t read up on this film, but I ended up having a very fun time and was consistently laughing and being invested in the story and characters. 

            The film follows American expat Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey-The Lincoln Lawyer, Dallas Buyers Club, Interstellar) who has built a highly successful and profitable marijuana empire in London. However, when word gets out that he’s planning to go out of business forever, it triggers mysterious plots, schemes, blackmail, and various other things in an attempt to seal his domain out from under him. 

            The film also stars Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Pacific Rim, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) as Raymond, Henry Golding (The Travel Show, Crazy Rich Asians, A Simple Favor) as Dry Eye, Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey, Hanna, Non-Stop) as Rosalind Pearson, Jeremy Strong (Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Succession) as Matthew Berger, Eddie Marsan (V for Vendetta, Mission: Impossible III, The World’s End) as Big Dave, Colin Farrell (Minority Report, Seven Psychopaths, The Lobster) as Coach, Hugh Grant (Nine Months, Mickey Blue Eyes, Paddington 2) as Fletcher, Jason Wong (Strangers, Missing, Jarhead 2: Field of Fire) as Phuc, Samuel West (Van Helsing, Suffragette, Darkest Hour) as Lord Pressfield, Eliot Summer as Laura Pressfield, Lyne Renée (The Hessen Affair, Strike Back, Split) as Jackie, Chris Evangelou as Primetime, Franz Drameh (Attack the Block, Edge of Tomorrow, The Flash) as Benny, Bugzy Malone as Ernie, and Tom Wu (Revolver, Batman Begins, Marco Polo) as Lord George. 

            Overall, The Gentlemen showcases everything that makes Guy Ritchie a great and celebrated filmmaker while also being an intelligently crafted and fun ride. It’s easily his best film in a very long time and recaptures the director’s glory days as well as paying homage to classic cinema similar to what Quentin Tarantino did with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. 

            Because, the story is being told as if someone is reading a screenplay, the film breaks the fourth wall several times and references and recreates different film and camera techniques such as aspect ratio change and grainier film quality. They’re actually very funny and inventive ways to progress the story and they never get old; every time got a huge laugh out of me. 

            The movie is very well cast and just about every performance keeps you invested, McConaughey is basically doing his usual shtick but it works for a movie like this, Michelle Dockery has some good lines that get some genuine laughs, and the two standout performances are Hugh Grant and Charlie Hunnam. Grant as this man who’s trying to solve the case shows exactly what he can do as an actor outside of being type casted in romantic comedies, and Hunnam absolutely hams it up and every time he’s on-screen or whenever he says a line, I crack a smile and laugh, it’s quite possibly his best performance so far. 

            The Gentlemen is a thoroughly enjoyable movie that may require multiple viewings to understand everything in the story. But if a movie is this entertaining that shouldn’t be a problem because I do want to watch this film again. 

            It’s smart, funny, violent whenever necessary, and has a very well-structured story with a colorful cast of characters. It’s everything I want out of a Guy Ritchie movie and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

            So, be a “Gentleman” and go watch this movie, you won’t regret it.