After venturing out of their comfort zone to making Sherlock Holmes, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, King Arthur and Aladdin, director Guy Ritchie has gone back to what people associate with him best, a British gangster flick.
While I think the first Sherlock Holmes as well as Aladdin is good fun, his crowning achievements will forever be Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. So I was intrigued to see if he would return to his comfort zone with another huge hit.
It was nice to see this side of Ritchie once again. The intimidating characters, the large cast all having their moments on screen and the intriguing way the story develops with some surprising and rewarding twists.
While the style and look may be a bit more polished then his previous gangster flicks, the almost Tarantino-esque dialogue gives you that Guy Ritchie magic that his fans love the most.
The performances were pretty good on the whole. Matthew McConaughey had a presence about him whenever he was on screen and gave us a character that made me believe you don't want to mess with. I can say exactly the same Charlie Hunnam who had multiple shining moments both in terms of execution of dialogue and physicality.
I was surprised by Michelle Dockery. She felt like she had been doing these types of films for years, and gave us another highly intimidating presence to contend with.
Colin Farrell gave us some nice variety and some of the vintage Guy Ritchie humor that we know and love. I can Farrell being the big crowd-pleaser and stealing the show for many viewers.
I was fine with Hugh Grant's performance. It felt a bit alienating for me, as it's not the usual character that he plays. I wasn't completely into it. But I think his solid execution of the dialogue he was given didn't detract my enjoyment of the overall product.
The rest of the cast I felt did a good job and never felt out of place with the rest of the tone. That includes Henry Golding, who I am glad to see get more opportunities after first seeing him in the really enjoyable Crazy Rich Asians.
There were some minor negatives that stopped me from thinking this film was great rather than good. It can get a bit too convoluted for its own good with the amount of twists it had. Also if I was going to be cruel about it, there was almost a smug feel about it. It was as if it felt smarter than the viewer and that the people making it were just inserting self-referential humor that only they would get. I hope I'm not the only one who felt this. But it wasn't a big drawback. It was just something I noticed then never effected my overall view of it.
So while it might not be as impactful or witty as Lock Stock or Snatch, this is still an enjoyable piece that will please the purist fans of Guy Ritchie. This genre is definitely his playground. You can see how adventurous he gets in all aspects and feel the confidence pouring off the screen.
Despite my negatives showing why it's not the total package, I remained entertained by it and I would happily watch this again.
Rating: 7/10
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