{"id":46537,"date":"2024-02-24T01:01:33","date_gmt":"2024-02-24T00:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1992498"},"modified":"2024-02-24T01:49:06","modified_gmt":"2024-02-24T00:49:06","slug":"the-gentlemen-review-guy-ritchie-goes-full-guy-ritchie-and-fans-will-love-it","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-gentlemen-review-guy-ritchie-goes-full-guy-ritchie-and-fans-will-love-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gentlemen review: Guy Ritchie goes full Guy Ritchie, and fans will love it"},"content":{"rendered":"

This series adaptation of the hit film is overblown, messy, ridiculous and a whole lot of fun. <\/p>

By James Hibbs\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 24 February 2024 at 00:01 AM<\/p>

\n\n
<\/div> 4.0 out of 5 star rating<\/span> <\/span> <\/div> <\/div>

Guy Ritchie\u2019s filmography has gone into hyperdrive in recent years, but surely the project to have most captured the imagination of the director\u2019s fan base has got to be 2019\u2019s The Gentlemen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After years spent adapting stories and utilising IP, with the Sherlock Holmes films, 2015\u2019s The Man from UNCLE, 2017\u2019s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and 2019\u2019s Aladdin, Ritchie took things back to basics, crafting a knotty, violent crime film more in line with his initial output of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.<\/p>\n

Reportedly, the film was always intended to be a TV series, but after no production companies would take the bait of Ritchie\u2019s pitch, he changed tack and developed the rip-roaring film, which received mixed-to-positive reviews and developed a firm following after it arrived on Netflix in 2020.<\/p>\n

Returning the project to its TV roots, a series was announced later that year, to be inspired by the film but telling a new story with new characters.<\/p>\n

The question is, of course, with a strong fan base now waiting on tenterhooks to see what Ritchie has cooked up, has he done it again, and created something those fans can fall in love with? Having seen all eight episodes, the answer is a resounding yes.<\/p>\n

\"Theo\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Theo James as Eddie Horniman in The Gentlemen.<\/span><\/figcaption> Kevin Baker\/Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

While the film starred the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant, and told the story of an American cannabis baron looking to sell his business, this version of The Gentlemen<\/a> stars Theo James as Eddie Horniman, a young army officer who inherits his father\u2019s estate and dukedom ahead of his elder brother Freddy (Daniel Ings).<\/p>\n

When Freddy finds himself in financial trouble, owing a lot of money to some very bad people, Eddie discovers that while the family is asset rich, they are cash poor.<\/p>\n

To compensate for this, his father had been allowing the criminal, cannabis producing Glass enterprise, led by Susie (Kaya Scodelario) on behalf of her imprisoned father Bobby (Ray Winstone), to operate on his land for a fee.<\/p>\n

Twists and turns abound as Eddie finds himself being pulled further and further into the criminal underworld, trying to keep his aristocratic family safe and their finances afloat.<\/p>\n

In truth, this is the most succinctly and spoiler-free that the plot can be described \u2013 like so many of Ritchie\u2019s plots, it\u2019s a tangled web of characters, motivations, alliances and betrayals, with each one leading to another and complications always around the corner.<\/p>\n

\"Kaya\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Kaya Scodelario in The Gentlemen.<\/span><\/figcaption> Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

In a film, this all has to tie up within a couple of hours, meaning the web can only spread so far. In the format of a series, Ritchie is truly let loose, meaning the number of characters and plotlines can expand almost infinitely.<\/p>\n

All of this to say that the series is messy, convoluted, at times absurd and frequently overblown. But, above all that, it is an absolute boat-load of fun.<\/p>\n

Ritchie brings all of his signature style to this project, and has rounded up some of the best actors in the business to achieve his vision.<\/p>\n

Former collaborators like Vinnie Jones are assembled here alongside newcomers like James, Scodelario and Ings, while even those you just assumed had worked with Ritchie at some point but haven\u2019t, such as Winstone, show up in supporting roles.<\/p>\n

Thanks to this, the world feels expansive, vibrant and filled with real characters<\/em>. Whether we\u2019re meant to or not, you can totally believe that McConaughey\u2019s Mickey Pearson and Michelle Dockery\u2019s\u00a0Rosalind are out there somewhere in this madcap world.<\/p>\n

As with the film, the plot throws an absolute storm of stuff at you \u2013 this person is in league with that person, who owes another person money but that person is being blackmailed, and on and on and on.<\/p>\n

Somehow, though, it all seems to work and remains somewhat cohesive and intelligible. You may not know why every single thing is happening at all times, but the central, emotional hooks \u2013 the ones tied to our leads \u2013 remain comprehensible.<\/p>\n

\"Ray\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Ray Winstone in The Gentlemen.<\/span><\/figcaption> Christopher Rafael\/Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

While the series does address some evident themes, in truth what it\u2019s saying can be summed up in one, quite simple line \u2013 the aristocracy are just as criminal as the gangsters.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s certainly not novel, nor is it all that deep, but by taking this central conceit and running with it in different directions, the show grounds itself in a central culture clash, one which means it can deviate from its central through-line with the Hornimans and still feel like one series, one story, one whole.<\/p>\n

It also helps that Ritchie has filled out the world with fun and distinctive characters, each of whom bring something different to the table and form part of a terrific ensemble.<\/p>\n

Yes, many of them are stereotypes, it\u2019s the way Ritchie operates, but they are also unique enough and filled with enough of their own specific motivations and pitfalls as to make them engaging.<\/p>\n

James is perhaps the most impressive we\u2019ve seen him here, playing Eddie as the straight man and the pragmatic centre, but also making him flawed enough that he remains interesting, and isn\u2019t completely outdone by his more vibrant supporting characters.<\/p>\n

\"Joely\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
The Gentlemen.<\/span><\/figcaption> Christopher Rafael\/Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Meanwhile, there are strong supporting turns from Scodelario, (a surprisingly restrained) Jones, Winstone, Joely Richardson and Giancarlo Esposito, but the true stand-out is undoubtedly Ings.<\/p>\n

His character Freddy is somehow both the most likeable and the most infuriating of them all, while also simply being a riot to watch. He\u2019s hugely entitled and anything he can get wrong he does, but there\u2019s still a streak of vulnerability running through him that we can empathise with.<\/p>\n

Ings just gets the tone of the series, and his character encapsulates it \u2013 yes, it\u2019s violent and dramatic, but it\u2019s also hugely silly and comic. Unlike some other filmmakers with a distinctive visual style and an obsession with gritty punch-ups and shoot-outs, Ritchie has never been one to take himself too seriously, and it really pays off here.<\/p>\n

This comic streak means that when the dialogue gets too clich\u00e9d or the hyper-masculine criminal negotiations get too on the nose, there\u2019s always something to undercut it. This is an uber-stylised, almost cartoonish world at times, and we\u2019re not meant to take it as being deadly earnest.<\/p>\n

\"Theo\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Theo James in The Gentlemen.<\/span><\/figcaption> Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Of course, the action is propulsive, exciting and impressively staged \u2013 you\u2019d expect nothing less from a Ritchie production, he just knows how to stage these sequences and when to deliver them for maximum impact, frequently spraying plenty of blood across the screen.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just another example of how what for some will be the show\u2019s strengths will be a complete turn-off for others. If you\u2019re not a fan of Ritchie\u2019s previous work in the crime genre, and particularly if you weren\u2019t a fan of 2019\u2019s The Gentlemen, then this will not be for you.<\/p>

That\u2019s the benefit of the film having been released before this. You absolutely don\u2019t need to have seen it to understand anything that\u2019s going on here \u2013 it is completely stand-alone \u2013 but it does help to set up expectations.<\/p>\n

For all those who enjoyed the film, even loved it, there were others who found it too violent, too glib, too high on its own supply.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s you, then you\u2019ll want to stay away from this series. It\u2019s Guy Ritchie going full Guy Ritchie, perhaps the most Guy Ritchie he\u2019s ever gone before.<\/p>\n

If that sounds like a bit of you, though, then strap in \u2013 it\u2019s going to be a truly wild ride.<\/p>\n