FIVE REASONS THIS COULD BE GOOD: THE GENTLEMEN (2020)
Written and directed by: Guy Ritchie
Produced by: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson, Bill Block
Story by: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson Marn Davies
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Marsan, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant etc.
UK Release Date: 1st January 2020
***SPOILER FREE***
THE GENTLEMEN (2020)
Guy Ritchie’s new film is released on New Year’s Day 2020 in the UK, and here are five reasons why it could be good.
1. THE DIRECTOR
Having dipped a big foot in the Hollywood studio pool with franchise hits like Sherlock Holmes and most recently Disney’s live action version of Aladdin (2019), Ritchie is back to the crime genre where he made his mark. His reboot of The Man From Uncle (2015) was very under-rated, and while his King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) didn’t quite work as a swords and geezer epic, Ritchie remains an excellent genre director and almost always produces very entertaining movies.
2. THE GENRE
With Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), Snatch (2000) and Rock N Rolla (2008), Ritchie excelled at carving himself a name in fast-paced-twisting-crime stories. They are full of hard nuts, femme fatales, dodgy geezers, businessmen, travellers, assassins, gamblers, plus working and upper class types all trying to outwit and out do each other in a variety of dodgy dealings. The films also feature fine ensemble casts, crunching violence, colourful language and cracking soundtracks. All of this combines to create fine entertainment all round. It may lack subtlety, suspense and emotion, but crime has never been so much fun.
3. THE STYLE
Guy Ritchie may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he certainly knows how to put together a movie. Some may also argue he’s all style and no substance. However, his visual style and ability to direct a brilliant action set-piece always stand out for me. Using lashings of music to compliment the freeze frames, voice-overs, whip-pans, flashbacks, flash-forwards, close-ups, canted frames, slow motion and anything else that smashes the story along is fine by me. Plus, don’t forget the over-the-top, but ever quotable zinging dialogue!
4. THE CAST
Ritchie must be a very positive on-set filmmaker to work with. Because ever since Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) was released he’s managed to bag a proper good cast in all of his films. The Gentlemen (2020) is no different. Here we get Matthew McConaughey, Colin Farrell, Jeremy Strong, Michelle Dockery, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding and Hugh Grant too. The trailer shows Grant effecting an interesting Michael Caine impression, while Farrell looks like he’s having the most fun as a chav-meets-traveller type gangster up for a bit of trouble!
5. THE TRAILER
The trailer dropped recently and looks really quite decent. Here it is:
The Cinema Fix presents: 