"The Gentlemen" (2020) Review by mh

[Guest]

"The Gentlemen" (2020)
MPAA rating: R (for violence, language, sexual references and drug content)
Genre - Guy Ritchie (aka - British Mobster movie)
Written & Directed by Guy Ritchie
Runtime 103 minutes
Studio - STXfilms (who?)
RFRD Bachelor B's - 4 out of 6

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I know you didn't ask for this review - kiss my ass.

In Guy Ritchie's newest BritMob flick (see above - he practically owns this genre since "Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels" premiered in 1999), there's a twist (what else do you expect from a Guy Ritchie movie?): although the main story is told in Ritchie-time (with lots, and I mean LOTS of flashbacks and time-shifts - kind of Ritchie's trademark, don't ya think?) with a professional snoop trying to cash in via a clever blackmail scheme staged by a Right Proper douchebag called Fletcher (played by a *chunky* Hugh Grant - ffs, I hope that's a makeup job and he didn't actually put on 3.5 Stone / 50lbs / 22.6kg for this picture), the central character is a Yank. London-based American Mary-Jane kingpin Michael Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) is fixin' to quit the whole program and sell off his 420 empire to the highest bidder. Trouble is there are some naughty mobsters who want to lowball Pearson, and other, naughtier mobsters who perceive his desire to bail out on the bales as a sign of weakness, and are sniffing out the chum in the marijuaters (I like my puns, don't you?)

Anyway: intrigue, subterfuge, wittiness, humour (notice the spelling) coupled with sudden outbursts of violence blended with Ritchie's twists within twists within twists mark the progress of Fletcher's big reveal to Pearson's lieutenant, Ray (Charlie Hunnam [Cold Mountain, Lost City of Z]) in an effort to scam a big payday from the grass oligarch. Naturally, things don't go according to plan. Colin Farrell has a surprisingly minor but nonetheless well-performed role as a mixed-martial arts gym owner, whose students come in handy in more than one pinch after first pinching one off in a really bad move.

Won't spoil it for you but "The Gentlemen" is classic Guy Ritchie and will keep you guessing right up til the end.

"The Gentlemen" has four of Radio Free Rocky D's Bachelor B's: Bombs, Blood, Bullets, Bashes, but no Beasts (except for a really big pig - honest) and no Breasts (dang).

mh