At first I thought it started a little slowly but in hindsight it was just right. A perfect execution of a classic British gangster film epitomised by a charismatic Colin Farrell who stole every scene he entered and left me crying out for a coach spin off. All in all very enjoyable classic guy ritchie film.

Aside from a few very marketable films like "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" and "Aladdin", Guy Ritchie is a writer/director who makes incredibly violent films. That is, incredibly violent films which are also brilliantly constructed and near perfect. While I rarely ever watch violent films, I eagerly look for his next dark British crime film, after seeing his "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch"....and so it's not surprising I'd see "The Gentlemen". And, like these other films, it's near perfect...and a film you ought to see if you have the stomach for this sort of story.

So this leads me to a huge warning. This is NOT a family-friendly film nor one you want to show your mother or Father Jenkins if he stops by for a visit. There's ample cursing, loads of violence, vomit galore, and the story is about bad people...very bad people.

The story is complicated...and goes together like a finely crafted puzzle. It concerns a marijuana czar in Britain, Michael Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) and his desire to sell out and retire to a life of ease and sophistication. However, after making an offer to a rival drug kingpin, suddenly everything goes haywire....folks start dying, farms growing the stuff are hit and an all-out war seems inevitable. There's WAY more to the story than this...but since it's so complex, it's best you just see it to appreciate it.

The bottom line is that Guy Ritchie can write and direct amazing films...and this one is truly amazing and entertaining. Apart from his misguided vanity project, "Swept Away", his output has been impressive and I cannot stress enough what a quality product this film is. My only MINOR quibble is what about the Russian mobster.....what happens with him? This isn't really dealt with in the film and seems a bit like a dangling plot point.

Having witnessed the cinematic abominations put out by Guy Ritchie since his last decent movie - 2000's SNATCH - I wasn't expecting much from THE GENTLEMEN and I didn't get it, either. It's a throwback to his gangster flicks of yesteryear, but cruder, dumber and more generic than ever. The plot is updated to modern times with smart phones, street gangs and rap, but it's just mindlessly convoluted, deeply unfunny, profane, and seems to go on and on with no end in sight. Hugh Grant's narrator is more caricature than character, and the only decent performances come from Charlie Hunnam and Colin Farrell; literally the only decent things in this.