The Gentlemen is a 2019 crime film about a bunch of people wanting to take over a highly successful cannabis empire in London.
Guy Ritchie is a filmmaker who’s all over the place. He has made some great flicks such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, but he has also made some highly disappointing films that don’t properly showcase his talent. Many people have been waiting for him to return to his old school style of filmmaking that he has been known for in the past, instead of directing big budget blockbusters. And now, it seems like he has finally listened to his fans by doing another British gangster flick. His latest feature titled The Gentlemen is supposedly a return to form that’s taking back to the good old days of his career. It stars a talented cast of actors such as Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Marsan, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant, and it’s hopefully going to show that Ritchie still has what it takes to make another fantastic film, right? Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
The Gentlemen revolves around a drug lord named Mickey Pearson (McConaughey) who runs the biggest marijuana empire in London. He decides to eventually retire and sell his business, and now criminals are coming after it through schemes, bribery and blackmail. It’s a very simple premise, but what we have instead is a tedious and sloppy mess.
The cast does fine with what they’re given, but some of the actors just act crazy and over-the-top, which really takes you out of it. Without a doubt, McConaughey is the best part of the entire film, and he’s the only one you end up caring by the end of the movie. Richie’s style of dialogue is known to be quippy and insane, and it’s admittedly quite funny to hear sometimes. However, the script for this feature tends to be ridiculously provocative and offensive whenever some characters blurt out racial and homophobic slurs just for the sake of it, and it becomes quite tiring to sit through.
The first half is painfully slow with nothing interesting to show, and it keeps dragging the pacing as the story goes on. When something finally happens, it’s too little, too late at that point. The narrative structure isn’t cohesive, because it’s all over the place. It lacks focus throughout, which makes the film very convoluted and exhausting to sit through. There’s nothing wrong with adding lots of twists and turns from start to finish, but it’s never a good idea to bore the audience with its insanely complicated storyline.
While it is not a complete trainwreck, it’s still frustrating to know that it’s not as good as it could have been. When you’re watching it, it really feels like the director is trying way too hard to emulate what has made his classic crime films so beloved, but instead it just comes across as boring and desperate. The Gentlemen is unfortunately not the return of form that you might have been waiting to see from Guy Ritchie.