The Gentlemen

STX Entertainment | Release Date: January 24, 2020

7.8	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 513 Ratings

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marklaing1Dec 22, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bizarre casting, (Hugh Grant as a gay paparazzi stringer when he is a superb upper middle class twit, why fight it?), Matthew McConaughey completely miscast, almost everyone in the wrong roles here. No chemistry or anything between the American gangster and his beloved moll wife. There were fun moments but how did the Black London boxing guys become expert with automatic weapons, especially when Colin Farrell just told us they're his pupils at a boxing gym? How did McConaughey survive a hhigh-speed crash with a lorry, with nary a scratch. Why didn't someone in makeup shave that nasty rash of a beard off his face? The opening credits were the best moment, it was trying to be Snatch but was typically Richie overdone.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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hnestlyontheslyMar 2, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Gentlemen is done dirty by a January opening. It's an April, at least. The movie is more of an experiment in ASMR sexual harassment on the part of some attractive no good doers from Ritchie's past projects. The story is a bit of a mousetrap of chronologies and unreliable narration, which makes it fun and tightly packed, well-paced, and oddly both more and less self-aware than some of his previous projects.

I have a soft and blind spot for Guy Ritchie films. I don't usually know I'm watching one unless Charlie Hunnam is in it. I've passively consumed a lot of Ritchie's big budget films in my childhood and early adolescence. I am continually surprised by the ways that his aesthetic both parodies and plays along with some themes of toxic masculinity: the gestures toward gay- and race-baiting for humor, the way that self-aware British culture clashes with American sensibilities about masculinity, and the unexpected joy of a bro-y film that doesn't need to feel like a game of Cards Against Humanity with your edgelord friends from college. The Gentlemen is a who's who of Ritchie's oeuvre of caper and gangster flicks along with actors on the rise like Henry Golding and Michelle Dockery (of Downton fame), and Matthew McConnaughey saucily eye-fing the camera the entire movie. Spoilers ahead. Ritchie makes moves toward metatheatrical storytelling in his editing, his occasional illustrated captioning, an inset narrative, and the not-so-subtle parables wrapped in trailer material. The opening shot of this movie, in which McConnaughey dies, is startling, and the rewind and reconstruction of events, which has the room for embellishment and authorial focalization, are elements of novel direction, but there are other things that are less innovative, notably the rape threat, which amounts to maybe the biggest missed opportunity for a rewind. One cannot help but think of moments like these as unforced errors. It's not our job to explain away the sloppiness of these choices for "time" or "movie length," because when you're movie has a full on music video of fight porn, you lose the excuse of having trimmed the plot to its barest bones. It can't be fun to be the critic finger wagging at the twee racist jokes of a much beloved genre director of dark comedies. I expect that everyone's sensitivities will be tested at some point or another in this movie, but I'm personally a lot less guilty about laughing at the casually racist jokes in this movie than I am about the constant undercurrent of faux homosexual tension that's pervasive in this movie. If this is a directorial decision that's supposed to satirize the BDE of the genre heroes, I am open in being persuaded to like it. In terms of fun ways that Ritchie defuses my anxieties about racist accents and the rest: the movement of our sympathies from the first time we meet The Toddlers and their original entry versus the final scenes or the Three Strikes joke (I'm reading this in my notes, I don't know what these means anymore) shows how Ritchie can play on our expectations of what a Bro-y movie with a lot of Anglo strongmen would think about a bunch of black and brown tykes with GoPros strapped to their heads. Even the way that Colin Ferrell educates the kids in the shop is an excellent twist to his own character, because it feels like he's toying with some inner city hooligans, in part, to deflate their egos, but we then learn that this is sort of his whole deal. The way Ferrell responds to his Toddlers when they ask, "Is everything OK, Coach?" with "No, it's not fine" and admonishment for their past actions does a lovely job of injecting their relationship with the pathos of a mentor. I guess there's some insidious racism implicit in the idea that the only thing standing between these boys and crime is a rough tongued Irishman, but honestly the conversation on race that the Coach and his student have does enough to show that the film is at least aware of criticism. Laugh out loud moments in this movie were reserved for the dragon fable and it’s rewind--Wife and Friend were both tickled by it and Wife went in unaware of the trailer, so I think it was doubly funny for her. The rewinds on Dry Eye's introduction are a way of being able to build character for the narrator and create a sense that our story is unreliable. The way that the inset narrative eventually leads to the present moment of storytelling is an excellent control of plot. The foiling of blackmail and new relationships that are blended together post the journalist's initial run through of the story makes for a powerful second act. I like the twisty chronology of the beginning moment of the McConnaughey's murder and the way that Hugh Grant's twist with the Russian oligarch changes the trajectory of the story. Might have to think on this one a little harder, but I definitely recommend.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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Danny7878Feb 17, 2020

It was rather slow. However it was intelligent, and the acting was excellent!!

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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kamgeforceMar 29, 2020

For once I agree with the critics. Snatch and Lock, Stock(and the rest) were incredibly entertaining movies with both brutal action and hilarious comedy. The Gentlemen is pretentious, predictable, completely unoriginal but worst of allFor once I agree with the critics. Snatch and Lock, Stock(and the rest) were incredibly entertaining movies with both brutal action and hilarious comedy. The Gentlemen is pretentious, predictable, completely unoriginal but worst of all incredibly boring. Good cast, but the acting was adequate at best. Grant stood out simply because his character of a sleazy cuck was very believable, I wonder why. Farrell did decent job as well, his character was the only one bordering on interesting. No iconic characters that will be remembered years from now though. I am glad i didnt watch this in a theater because I would walk out, took me a day to finish this in between watching something more interesting and even still i think it was a waste of time.… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

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moviemitch96Jan 26, 2020

I'd only consider myself a casual Guy Ritchie fan, having enjoyed some of his previous British crime films, such as 'Snatch' and 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' just fine. The cast and premise of this film were enough to intrigue me toI'd only consider myself a casual Guy Ritchie fan, having enjoyed some of his previous British crime films, such as 'Snatch' and 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' just fine. The cast and premise of this film were enough to intrigue me to give this latest outing of his a go. Matthew McConaughey plays an American-born drug lord residing in England, who plans to retire and sell off his business. However, it doesn't go so simply, as he's marked for death by many hitmen and criminals who want in on his fortune and position of power, which in turn, involves various other criminals throughout England. The cast is easily the best thing about this film! McConaughey gives an always reliably charismatic lead performance, along with some rather humorous supporting turns from Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell, and Hugh Grant to name a few. The action and fights are quite fun to watch, and there are some funny moments to be had. However, story-wise, it came up a bit short for me. Things get a little overly convoluted and the movie dragged itself out a little longer than I would've liked. The film took its time with a couple plot points longer than necessary too in my eyes. Overall, it's a welcome return to form for Guy Ritchie, as he's mainly been focusing on big budget fare like 'King Arthur' and the live-action 'Aladdin' as of late, and there's some funny lines and moments throughout, but the story's a little too convoluted and dragged out for its own good that it didn't quite justify the handful of moments I did enjoy. I anticipate those who are bigger fans of Ritchie's British crime films will enjoy it a little more than I did.… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

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GinaKJan 28, 2020

An organized crime comedy with many well-known actors, some clever dialogue, and a few surprises, but with a plot that often limped along noticeably. Not a lot of wit and originality but satisfying enough for a January movie when the weatherAn organized crime comedy with many well-known actors, some clever dialogue, and a few surprises, but with a plot that often limped along noticeably. Not a lot of wit and originality but satisfying enough for a January movie when the weather is gloomy and the holidays are over. I don’t mean this as sarcastically as it sounds, but you can do a lot worse in January if you’ve seen all the films nominated for various awards.… Expand

2 of 7 users found this helpful25

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Iamcritical86Jul 21, 2020

Oh my GOD! Just one convoluted scene to another! It's like every segment of the film insisted upon itself. The story line was all over the place, making the film PAINFUL to follow and brutally confusing. I gave "The Gentlemen" a generous 5Oh my GOD! Just one convoluted scene to another! It's like every segment of the film insisted upon itself. The story line was all over the place, making the film PAINFUL to follow and brutally confusing. I gave "The Gentlemen" a generous 5 strictly under the premise that it "had it's moments". Every dramatic scene was like throwing glitter on something that could never be a star!… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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MaksymilianJul 9, 2020

This movie was bizarre. It didn't involve me at all and was a bit boring but have amazing actors.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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Mauro_LanariDec 3, 2020

(Mauro Lanari)
Ritchie is left with just a bit of style, while poetics, screenplay, dialogues and metacinema are now a copy of Quentin's ones. At least also his musical taste is still valid: "In Every Dream Home a Heartache", Roxy Music 1973.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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