Hailed as the Guy Ritchie’s return to the crime genre, The Gentlemen turned out to be a mediocre flick with just enough gimmicks to cross the finish line. After delightfully retro hit The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and entertaining King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Guy directed the live-action version of Aladdin. I get the feeling that this is his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a movie where he allowed himself to revel in the British crime sub-genre. And while Quentin managed to create a coherent and engaging movie that stands on its own, The Gentlemen lacked strong and likable characters with the exception of Colin Farrell’s Coach and stumbling through the story created a confusing and somewhat dull atmosphere. And I say this as a huge Guy and Marijuana fan. The story-within-the-story angle didn’t work and he just kept throwing stuff at us and by stuff, I mean characters and sub-plots. I think that the suspension of belief along with a couple of technical issues were the things that ultimately ruined this movie. I would also add that I had huge expectations and this could be the reason behind all this trashing.
Hopefully, this opening paragraph will properly prepare you for The Gentlemen that is still a Rabbit-Review recommended movie. First of all, I have to stand in defense of the jokes that really upset the posh ruling class of movie reviewers and professional complainers. For fuck’s sake, this is a movie! If a hardened criminal can’t make a joke about Asians or any other group, what can he do? I guess murder, torture and other fun stuff is perfectly fine, but Satan forbid you call someone a dirty name. Just because of this unfiltered approach it is worth to check out this movie, but wait, there’s more. The story is quite original and it has enough twists to keep you interested, while the things I enjoyed most were the humor along with a couple of great scenes. Since I’m on the pause when it comes to the herb, that scene where Ray played by Charlie Hunnam rolls a perfect old school joint sent shivers down my spine.
Michael Pearson, the uncrowned cannabis king of the United King wants to retire after being in the game for a couple of decades. It is a smart move especially with the legalization looming over the corner but he has to do this very carefully because we’re still talking about millions and millions of dollars. There are a number of characters that would like to see him fail or even worse and will Micheal make it is up to you to find out.
The thing that saved The Gentlemen was the cast. It was fun to see Hugh Grant as a sleazy private detective while Charlie Hunnam gave his usual best. I have to admit that he keeps on growing and the days where I thought he couldn’t break out of his Sons of Anarchy character are behind him. Of course, Colin Farrell stole the show with his small but effective role while Matthew McConaughey was quite strange in a role that should fit him perfectly. If you want to find out what this movie could have been, check out The Bank Job (2008).
Director: Guy Ritchie
Writers: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson, Marn Davies
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Michelle Dockery, Hugh Grant, Henry Golding, Colin Farrell, Jeremy Strong
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8367814/
