Despite having seen and enjoyed both Sherlock Holmes films — I did see them many years ago so it’s possible my opinion would change if I were to rewatch them —, the dreadful King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was enough to make of Guy Ritchie a filmmaker to stay away from. Reason why, despite having over the years heard nothing but good if not great things about it, I never bothered to watch Snatch. But I should have because those weren’t just rumours, Guy Ritchie’s is the charming, funny and exciting crime comedy everyone says it is.
The film follows two storylines, both taking place in London. One sees Turkish (Jason Statham) and his partner Tommy (Stephen Graham), two amateur boxing promoters who convince big-time criminal Brick Top (Alan Ford) to put Gorgeous George (Adam Fogerty) in a matchup with one of Brick Top’s boxers. However, when Turkish sends Tommy and Gorgeous George to purchase a caravan from the gypsies, things go terribly wrong and Gorgeous George gets wounded. Turns out Mickey (Brad Pitt), the hothead gypsy who knocked down Gorgeous George, is quite a boxer himself, Turkish persuaded him to replace Gorgeous George and must convince Brick Top to let Mickey fight instead.
In the other storyline, Franky Four Fingers (Benicio del Toro) has just stolen a diamond "the size of a fist" on behalf of New York jeweller Cousin Avi (Dennis Farina). Unfortunately, a sneaky Russian gangster, Boris the Blade (Rade Šerbedžija), becomes interested in the diamond, and hires two petty criminals, Vicent (Robbie Gee) and Sol (Lennie James), to do the dirty work.
It comes without saying that the two plots eventually intertwine and when it happens it's just glorious. Up until then, both plots are interesting and compelling, they are complex — so much so that if you don't pay attention for a moment you may end up being very confused — and unpredictable, but most of all they are entertaining and fun to follow.
In addition to the great story, Ritchie also wrote great characters. Although their introduction is very quick and there are so many of them it's kinda confusing and difficult to tell who's who at first, as the story unfolds, we get to know these bizarre, colourful characters, each one with their own quirk that makes them memorable. And the way Ritchie made their lives connect is just brilliant as it gives us someone to empathize with — it would have been pretty hard if not impossible to pick someone among the characters as they all are bad, unredeemable people.
Possibly even more impressive than the script is the wonderful cast Ritchie put together. Not only every single actor gives a fun, entertaining performance, but some of them give one if not their finest performances, the standouts being Jason Statham who is incredibly charismatic and whose line delivery is just perfect, and Brad Pitt who is just brilliant as the charismatic and yet incomprehensible gypsy Mickey.
At last, Ritchie did an impressive job directing too. The visual aspect is beyond fascinating with its odd and fun camera angles, slow-motion sequences, still shots, and brilliant use of colours. The stylish, past-paced editing is also a delight and, along with the cinematography, it helps the film move at a cracking pace.
