By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
It?s good to see director/screenwriter
Guy Ritchie back in stride again with his latest movie
?The Gentlemen.?
While ?The Gentlemen? doesn?t offer all the firepower and non-stop adrenaline rush of Ritchie?s debut feature, ?Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels,? or ?Snatch? and ?RocknRolla,? it?s still a thrilling ride and a welcome return to form for the British filmmaker.
In ?The Gentlemen? Matthew McConaughey stars as Mickey Pearson, a crazy-sexy-cool, American born dreamer who grew up poor, moves to Britain and attends Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. While in Britain he soon becomes a major marijuana kingpin running a string of bunkers nestled underneath some wealthy estates throughout Britain.
The sticky-icky ?Bush? has been very good for Mickey. He doesn?t use it, just deals it and has made enough money from his enterprise. Now, he?s ready to call it quits and sell his cannabis empire and enjoy some quality time with his sultry wife Rosalind (?Downton Abbey?).
A lot of people want a piece of Mickey?s action. There?s Matthew, (Jeremy Strong, TV?s ?Succession?), a flamboyant Jewish-American billionaire. To say he has ulterior motives would be a huge understatement.
A notorious Asian crime boss named Dry Eye (a very good Henry Golding, ?Crazy Rich Asians?) is ready to implement a power play move too.
Mickey?s right-hand man Raymond (Charlie Hunnam, ?King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword?) gets caught up even deeper in Mickey?s gangster world when the seedy and greedy tabloid journalist Fletcher (a terrific Hugh Grant, ?Paddington 2?) drops in on him. Fletcher has been hired by publishing honcho, Big Dave (a funny Eddie Marsan, TV?s ?Ray Donovan?) who is still ticked off at something Mickey did to him years ago.
Big Dave is looking for revenge and is eager to bring down the drug lord by any means necessary. Fletcher (Grant) has gathered a ton of damming information on Mickey and has even been filming the guy?s every move. There?s enough stuff to write a movie about Mickey. And Fletcher does just that. He presents a screenplay to Raymond called ?Bush? and attempts to strong-arm him into buying it for a few million.
The clever plot--which becomes a movie within a movie and is narrated in part by Fletcher--works with surprising effectiveness. It also takes a wicked turn when the local boxing coach (Colin Farrell, ?Widows?) arrives to rescue a few of his students who make the stupid mistake of trying to rob one of Mickey?s bunkers.
All these goofball characters collide in the most bizarre ways and that?s what keeps you fixated on ?The Gentlemen.? It zigs and zags when you least expect it.
?The Gentlemen? is dark, edgy, violent and even politically incorrect. It?s Guy Ritchie getting back to his roots and it?s a crazy, good time.
Editor's Note: Check out my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 1530 AM and 93.1 FM.
Check Out This Trailer For
"THE GENTLEMEN"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics? Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
