The Gentlemen

Sound the alarm and get ready with the expletive bleeper, Guy Ritchie is back with a 'propa' London gangster film, the first since RocknRolla back in 2008.

The Gentlemen makes a few concessions to the fact that it’s 2020 but otherwise drops us back into a world of dapper gangsters, boxing gyms and liberal use of the C word.

Ritchie is let loose here after the too-tame Aladdin and King Arthur and the underrated Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Sherlock Holmes reboots and it’s glorious to see. His flair for visual, Tarantino-aping panache is evident from the word go as Hugh Grant’s meta reporter takes us through the ducking and diving story of Matthew McConaughey’s Mickey Pearson, the London kingpin of marijuana, who’s accepted an offer to sell his lucrative enterprise. Suffice to say, this doesn’t go smoothly.

What ensues is a typically winding plot filled with violence, razor-sharp scripting and a few twists and turns which is best experienced spoiler-free. It’s clear though, that Ritchie wants to discuss growing older and the changing cultural landscape and, whether he’s right to do this or not, it does lend the film a maturer feel.

He’s assembled another startling cast and, as always, allows his actors off the leash to be as menacing, hilarious and British as possible. He’s found a winning collaborator in Charlie Hunnam (one of a few positives from King Arthur) who gives his best Peaky Blinders audition as Mickey’s right-hand man. McConaughey has never been more menacing as Pearson and having his voice intermingled with the British cast gives his character a real edge.

Michelle Dockery and Colin Farrell are fantastic but Hugh Grant takes the MVP gong as the gonzo reporter Fletcher, hamming it up with a bizarre but hilarious accent which will induce belly laughs. His use of ‘engorging’ is sure to become a future meme. He guides us through proceedings like an in-film Ritchie, embellishing the story and even changing the film stock at one point. This meta-style might not suit all tastes but it’s a fresh way to tell the story and does pay off as things progress.

Paul Weller’s That’s Entertainment plays us out and this gentrified gangster caper is just that - perfect entertainment. A rip-roaring, rollercoaster return to form.

4 stars ****