The Gentlemen is another Guy Ritchie movie. That’s it, that’s the review.
Seriously though, Guy Ritchie makes one kind of movie. This is not in and of itself a unique claim to fame but his style is quite divisive and consistently so. He's the guy that turned Sherlock Holmes into a buddy cop action-comedy after all.
So how does The Gentlemen fit into this filmography? It deviates not at all from the expected. The Gentlemen is a gangster film in the same way virtually all of Ritchie’s films wind up being. There is a colorful cast of characters, overwritten flamboyant dialogue, and genuinely amusing performances from talented actors given the freedom to run away with it.
I did in fact enjoy The Gentlemen, quite a bit in fact, despite it being in so many ways completely unremarkable. I think what ultimately saves it are the performances, from McConaughey’s unflappable drug lord to Grant’s conniving PI, and Colin Farrell’s “Coach”, the characters come across as larger than life, almost comic book like in their presentation. This keeps the focus on them rather than the derivative storyline that is delivered with undeserved panache throughout. I only watched this a few days ago and already struggle to identify stand out moments.
The plot isn’t dreadful mind you, but it isn’t interesting either and that’s kind of a problem when it takes all these twists and turns that seem intended to keep audiences in suspense. I found little to engross me in these moments, nor in some of the childish humor. What saved this were the characters, the film is well cast and despite the eye roll worthy dialogue at times, the performances kept me interested throughout.
Overall, the film was fun and an easy watch with a reasonable runtime and deft pacing despite everything else. Certainly, worth checking out if you’ve got a taste for Ritchie's style or gangster films in general.
7/10 It’s not wagyu, but it’s still steak.