Director Guy Ritchie has had one complicated film career. Beginning with his funny British crime flicks "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," and "Snatch," he then struggled with some studio blockbuster attempts. These included "Sherlock Holmes," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," "King Arthur," and several others. Ritchie eventually found some success with last year's "Aladdin," which earned a billion dollars at the box office.
Ritchie has returned to the crime world with his latest film bringing together an A-list cast, that included Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Grant, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Colin Farrell among others.
The cast doesn't appear to take Ritchie's writing very seriously, nor should the audience. This may confuse some, but Ritchie fans will definitely get a kick out of the story.
'The Gentleman' plot is driven by many moving parts and people
The plot is so in-depth, involving several moving parts and oddball characters thrown about. The film is held together by Grant (Fletcher), who is a private investigator for a local tabloid, who thrusts himself into the shady goings-on. Fletcher is also attempting to sell this story as a movie. This leads to some jokes at Ritchie's own expenses, such as a shot of a poster from his "Man from U.N.C.L.E." movie.
The majority of the action and violence involves McConaughey (Mickey Pearson), a successful drug dealer in college which he turned into a massive marijuana business.
He navigates the seedy world, hiding his product on several estates. Pearson later decides to retire and sell the business, which leads to a whirlwind of problems in the underworld.
'The Gentleman' is highlighted by Hugh Grant and Matthew McConaughey
The icing on the cake of this Ritchie film is its A-list cast. I thoroughly enjoyed Grant's performance who is attempting his best Michael Caine impression and is almost unrecognizable.
Grant in real life is actually one of the biggest critics of British tabloids, making this character fun to see. Grant shares most of his screen time with Hunnam, and play well off each other.
This is Matthew McConaughey's best performance in a long time, following several busts, and he shows his chops nicely. Farrell pops in as the film's comic relief as a boxing coach, and Strong also delivers well in several great scenes.
Eddie Marsan as "Big Dave," has his time in the spotlight. Guy Ritchie is back in top form if you like these kinds of films. It's not as great as his early crime flicks, but it will have to do. "The Gentleman" has arrived in theaters and is doing well at the box office but is still facing fierce competition from "Bad Boys For Life."