Movie Review: "The Gentlemen" (2020)

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Movie: "The Gentlemen"

Director: Guy Ritchie
Year: 2020
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 53 minutes

Director Guy Ritchie has specialized in British gangster flicks since the beginning of his career. Even when he isn't supposed to be making a British gangster flick, he's still making a British gangster flick, but with characters like King Arthur or Sherlock Holmes inserted into them. With his latest film "The Gentlemen" (2020), Ritchie returns to his roots and make a film that is in the same vein as his breakthrough features "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" (1998) and "Snatch" (2000). The story revolves around an American-born British marijuana kingpin named Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey). Mickey is looking to break away from the drug game and wants to sell his business. His potential buyer is a man named Matthew (Jeremy Strong) who, despite being a criminal every bit as wicked as Mickey, has a much cleaner public persona, something Mickey lacks. Another person looking to take over Mickey's business is a gangster nicknamed Dry Eye (Henry Golding), who is tired of being a soldier in his own organization and is attempting a more hostile takeover. Dry Eye might not be acting on his own and might be taking orders from someone else, and private investigator Fletcher (Hugh Grant) believes he knows exactly who that is. Fletcher is willing to give that information to Mickey's right-hand man, Ray (Charlie Hunnam), for the right price.

Photo: Matthew McConaughey and Michelle Dockery star as Mickey and Rosalind Pearson in Guy Ritchie's 2020 film "The Gentlemen." (Image Source)

"The Gentlemen" is everything you'd hope for and want a peak Guy Ritchie film to be. It is sleek, sharp, stylish, and loaded with unique characters cursing up a storm. This is a showcase of Ritchie at his best. He doesn't hold back and almost dares the audience to be offended by what is said and what he puts on screen. The movie opens with a bang and pulls us into the story from that point on. The narrative takes the audience down roads with lots of twists and turns, slowly peeling back the layers of the story like an onion until all is ultimately revealed. We will say that we did see some of the twists coming, but that doesn't mean the ride to get to the end was any less fun, raunchy, and bloody.

This movie wouldn't be as fun as it is without some great performances from the main actors playing each of their colorful characters. Our favorite performance came from Hugh Grant, the smarmy private investigator who gets hired to dig up dirt on Mickey by a tabloid newspaper, only to turn around and try and sell everything he has uncovered back to Mickey himself. Grant's character Fletcher feels like the R-rated version of one of his "Paddington 2" alter egos, and we loved every minute of his grandiose performance. Another standout for us was Colin Farrell as Coach, a literal fighting trainer to a group of young men who find themselves in heaps of trouble with Mickey. Coach eventually strikes a deal with Mickey to get his boys out of a jam, and what he's required to do to pay off this debt...well...it's a horrible riot. The over-the-top nature of Farrell and Grant's characters brings the most laughter and entertainment to the film, but we found all of the performances to be excellent.

Photo: Coach (Colin Farrell) and Ray (Charlie Hunnam) hear noises and look in the back of a car trunk in the movie "The Gentlemen" (2020).  (Image Source)

If you are in the mood for a sleek-looking, crime-riddled, fast-talking, wacky-but-fun British gangster flick, "The Gentlemen" (2020) is definitely worth checking out. Keep in mind, though, this movie is not for the easily offended.

My Rating: 8/10
BigJ's Rating: 8/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.1/10
RT Rating: 73%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!

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