The Gentlemen 2019 * * 1/2 Stars

Director: Guy Ritchie
Year: 2019
Rated R
Rating: * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Hugh Grant

2019's The Gentlemen is my latest review. And no, it doesn't include Sting, Alan Ford, Jason Statham, or Vinnie Jones in its cast (I kinda wish it did). "Gentlemen" is about a once poverty-stricken American who sells off his marijuana enterprise only to get a bunch of criminal blokes who want to steal it from him profit free.

Released in London via December of last year and featuring a persona named Dry Eye (that's so Ritchie), "Gentlemen" has director Guy Ritchie in held back, gangster reserved mode. It's not as violent as I thought it would be nor is it as fresh (or nasty). Yup, "Gentlemen" is a bona fide, Ritchie retread. Too bad it lacks the snap, crackle, and pop of his earlier stuff (Snatch, Sherlock Holmes, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels).

Starring the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Colin Farrell, and Hugh Grant (who are all quite good), The Gentlemen has plenty of jump cuts, actors with thick British accents, spit-fire dialogue, numerous flashbacks, a sloppy narrative, and plenty of good old Ritchie speak ("f**k off then", "double bubble", "c*nt", "bullocks", "on the tele"). "Gentlemen" also contains too many characters that fade in and out and shoot-'em-up scenes that build dramatic momentum only to come to a screeching halt.

For me, Guy Ritchie has enough cinematic trickery up his sleeve and enough spent energy for five filmmakers. He's like the United Kingdom's version of Quentin Tarantino and/or Marty Scorsese. Pity that he's not much a storyteller because The Gentlemen is a little ponderous, a little shilly-shally, and all over the map. When the end credits for "Gentlemen" come up you hear the song "That's Entertainment" by The Jam. That's funny because the word entertainment and the bulk of The Gentlemen don't quite gel. Rating: 2 and a half stars for well, the empty style points and the lush UK interiors.

Written by Jesse Burleson