Has there ever been a bad performance in a Guy Ritchie movie? If there has I haven't noticed it. He has an ornate ability to take average actors and make them great, and to take already great actors and get even more out of them. There are a few directors around who specialise in this but Ritchie is right near the top. The cast in 'The Gentlemen' is admittedly fantastic, but it doesn't change the fact that they are an absolute treat to watch. Matthew McConaughey is in his element in a role that he was born to play, Charlie Hunnam plays one of the coolest characters I've seen perfectly, Colin Farrell is hilarious and ridiculously cool as well and then Hugh Grant gives one of the best performances I've ever seen from him. In fact Grant was so good I didn't even recognise his voice and had to wonder if they'd dubbed it. They hadn't, he'd just nailed it.
The style this movie possesses is just so much fun to watch. If you've seen any of Ritchie's previous similar films ('Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', 'Snatch', 'RocknRolla') then you know what I'm talking about. The pacing moves at lightning speed, the dialogue is quick, clever and deeper than you first realise and the conflict is always multi-layered. This one is actually told in quite a unique way with a couple of characters going over events that have already happened and it works masterfully. It breaks the story up and gives room for creativity in the story-telling process and also humour.
Every time I see that Ritchie has made a movie that isn't a crime-thriller I get a little disappointed. It's not that the other stuff he's doing is bad ('Swept Away' being an obvious exception), it's just that he is so damn good as this style of movie. He's the best in the business and if he only did these for the rest of his career I'd be a very happy man. This is an excellent movie well worth your time and money.
