A Complete Review of Guy Ritchie's work

Unfortunately, I haven't seen this one yet...

Cast : Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elwes, Hugh Grant, Josh Hartnett

What was it about?
Special agent Orson Fortune and his team of operatives recruit one of Hollywood's biggest movie stars to help them on an undercover mission when the sale of a deadly new weapons technology threatens to disrupt the world order.

My two cents:
In spite of its rather convoluted title, this movie did sound promising. Indeed, it could have been a really cool Mission Impossible-like action flick with Statham leading a team of expert spies with some awesome action scenes and some cracking signature dialogues by Ritchie. Well, eventually, I was surprised by how underwhelming this movie actually turned out to be. Above all, the damned thing was just so flat, seriously, there was barely no pulse whatsoever. It also felt and looked rather cheap. I mean, why were there only 2 agents in this spy team? At least, Aubrey Plaza was fine, even if she was not given enough to do but Bugzy Malone who apparently barely had any acting experience was rather dull. But, that was basically the whole issue, the action scenes, the characters, the story, the dialogues, everything was just so boring. Eventually, the only thing that stood out was the weird relationship between Danny Francesco (played by Josh Harnett) and Greg Simmonds (played by Hugh Grant who basically stole the show every time he was on the screen). Indeed, somehow, these two men got along so well, it was actually quite fun to watch but it was just a tiny bit in this movie which was supposed to be actually focusing on Jason Statham who gave here a completely forgettable performance. Compared to this movie, 'The Man from U.N.C.LE' was actually pretty much a masterpiece after all.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Jason Statham, Holt McCallany, Josh Hartnett, Scott Eastwood, Andy Garcia

What was it about?
A cold and mysterious character working at a cash truck company responsible for moving a lot of money around Los Angeles each week.

My two cents:
I really liked the idea of Guy Ritchie working again with Jason Statham after 16 long years so I was actually eager to check this movie (In fact, I have to admit that I actually saw first 'Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre' which turned out to be surprisingly weak). Unfortunately, instead of making again a fun Guy Ritchie joint like 'Snatch' or 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', they made instead a typical Jason Statham action flick which was rather disappointing, at least, as far as I was concerned. First of all, I have to admit that I haven't seen 'Le convoyeur' but, since it has been added on Netflix recently, I will probably check it out at some point. Anyway, the concept had some potential but I didn't care much about the approach though. Basically, in contrary to Ritchie's earlier work with Statham, there was no humor whatsoever, the damned thing was just so dreary dead-serious, it was almost depressing to watch. Sure, the characters had some continuous banter with each other but it was never actually funny and, to be honest, most of the dialogues were actually rather pathetic. Concerning the story, I have to admit that it was actually well made and fairly entertaining but, eventually, I don't think it all really made sense. For example, they made it seems as if it was the only cash truck company in Los Angeles, otherwise, why would these group of military attack again a cash truck from the same company? And what was this all about the main character questioning his female co-worker in the middle of the night? What was the added value regarding the rest of the story? Eventually, I think I was actually generous with my rating here but I guess it is still worth a look.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell, Henry Golding, Hugh Grant

What was it about?
An American expat tries to sell off his highly profitable marijuana empire in London, triggering plots, schemes, bribery and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain out from under him.

My two cents:
Well, after making an unnecessary and rather misguided new version of ‘Aladdin’ and also an unnecessary and even more misguided new version of ‘King Arthur’, Ritchie went back to his roots, to the genre that gave him his breakthrough, the British gangster flick. Of course, since I really loved ‘Snatch’, I was hoping for something seriously wild and entertaining and I had some rather high expectations but, to be honest, I actually ended up with some mixed feelings. I mean, sure, it was well made and there was a really solid cast involved and it mostly worked fine but it wasn’t exactly a home-run though. Indeed, I still missed the wild energy displayed in ‘Snatch’ and the whole thing felt sometimes a little bit flat. Furthermore, even though Hugh Grant probably gave here one of his best performances, I think it was a mistake to spend basically all the movie on his conversation with Charlie Hunnam’s character. Indeed, they were both hardly the most interesting and/or entertaining characters but we were still stuck with them through the whole duration. Above all, this framing of this story was not really entertaining and it did outstay its welcome at some point. As a result, we didn’t spend so much time with Michael Pearson and it’s a pity because having Matthew McConaughey playing a marijuana drug baron in a Guy Ritchie gangster flick was actually freaking awesome. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was still nice to see Guy Ritchie doing what he is best at.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Will Smith

What was it about?
A kindhearted street urchin and a power-hungry Grand Vizier vie for a magic lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.

My two cents:
To be honest, following the disappointing new version of 'Dumbo', I really lowered down my expectations for this flick but since 'Aladdin' has always been my favorite Classic Disney animated feature, I still wanted to check it out. Well, eventually, I thought it was not bad at all after all. Indeed, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott were some perfect choices to respectively play Aladdin and Jasmine but, of course, I was above all impressed by Will Smith. Indeed, not only he managed to make a tribute to Robin Williams's iconic performance but he also managed to make the character is own somehow. Basically, he completely nailed it and gave here one of best performances in years. Concerning the story itself, well, they played it safe like they did with the new versions of 'Cinderella' and 'Beauty and the Beast' and they kept maybe 90% of the original story. However, it didn't bother me since, as I mentioned before, I always had a weak spot for this fairy tale and the whole thing looked beautiful and it was still pretty damned entertaining.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou, Eric Bana, Aidan Gillen, Annabelle Wallis

What was it about?
Robbed of his birthright, Arthur comes up the hard way in the back alleys of the city. But once he pulls the sword from the stone, he is forced to acknowledge his true legacy - whether he likes it or not.

My two cents:
First of all, it was such a misguided idea to make yet another movie about King Arthur. I mean, seriously, there have been already so many movies about this story and its character and, even though Ritchie did manage to recycle Sherlock Holmes (which was in fact slightly overrated), he obviously didn't succeed here in providing anything new or really interesting about this classic tale. In fact, I have to admit that the first 30 minutes were actually not bad, at least, it was better than I expected but, as soon as Arthur got his hands on Excalibur, the damned thing became increasingly boring. The biggest mistake they made, in my opinion, is that the whole thing took itself so seriously. Indeed, everytime they brought some humor, it became slightly more entertaining but all this was buried under some seriously underwhelming action scenes combined with way too many CGI. Concerning the overdose of GCI, sometimes, I did look decent but, for some other scenes, it felt like watching a video game. Regarding the cast, even though Charlie Hunnam and Jude Law were not bad, the rest was actually pretty weak, especially Astrid Bergès-Frisbey who got on my nerves through the whole thing. Eventually, it was watchable but the damned thing was still pretty much a waste of time for all the people involved.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Hugh Grant

What was it about?
In the early 1960s, CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons.

My two cents:
Eventually, the first thing that bothered me was the cast. Indeed, to have an English actor to play an American and a Swedish girl to play a German was not a big issue but I really believe that a Russian actor would have been a better choice to play this Russian spy. At least, I have to admit it, Armie Hammer was not bad after all. Anyway, concerning the movie itself, I was actually really impressed by the opening scene. Indeed, it was really well made and thrilling to behold and I was thinking for a moment that the whole thing could be a really awesome vintage spy flick. Unfortunately, the main plot turned out to be really pedestrian and, except for a few decent moments, I really had a hard time to care about what was going on. Seriously, they went for something terribly generic and I'm not surprised that it didn’t get much of an audience when it was released. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch but, with this material, they could have delivered something much more entertaining than this.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Rachel McAdams, Stephen Fry, Kelly Reilly, Eddie Marsan

What was it about?
Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson join forces to outwit and bring down their fiercest adversary, Professor Moriarty.

My two cents:
Personally, even though I enjoyed ‘Sherlock Holmes’, I never thought it was really that amazing but since it was a huge box-office hit, of course, they had to come up with a sequel. Eventually, it was not bad but not much more, I'm afraid. I mean, it was visually really appealing (something Guy Ritchie still knows how to handle), Robert Downey Jr. was quite brilliant, as usual, and he had, once again, some very good chemistry with Jude Law. Unfortunately, I really had a hard time to care about the story. At least, with its predecessor, I didn't care much either but I was still entertained throughout the whole thing whereas, with this sequel, I started to get bored half way through. Personally, I think the whole thing was just way too convoluted. I mean, you either make an action movie or you make a cerebral one but don't make one pretending to be the other. Furthermore, I thought that Noomi Rapace was totally wasted here. For her first Hollywood part, even though she had a prominent role, she barely had anything to do during the whole thing except tagging along behind Holmes and Watson. Still, I have to admit, those two fellows worked pretty well together, the whole thing was very well made, so it remains a rather entertaining blockbuster.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan

What was it about?
Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.

My two cents:
Eventually, I thought it was pretty good. The movie looked really good and the action scenes worked pretty well without overshadowing the rest of the movie. Of course, the best was the casting. Indeed, Downey Jr was awesome and totally rocked his performance and Jude Law was a good choice for Watson. However, it was still nothing mind-blowing though. I mean, I liked the story and I enjoyed how they rationally explained everything at the end like a good old Holmes tale but, honestly, it was not a really strong story. They were way too busy making sure the whole thing looked bad-ass, that Robert Downey Jr sounded cool when they should have spent more time on a strong and spellbinding story. It is like the dialogs, some of them were entertaining, but some others were way too convoluted and I understand that they wanted to make it sound clever but it did backfire at them a couple of times. Still, it remains a well made and entertaining blockbuster, nothing more and nothing less.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven, Ludacris, Gemma Arterton

What was it about?
Lenny Cole, a London mob boss, puts the bite on all local real estate transactions. For substantial fees, he's helping Uri Omovich, a Russian developer. As a sign of good faith, Omovich loans Cole a valuable painting, promptly stolen off Cole's wall.

My two cents:
When I heard the good buzz about this movie, I was so excited. Indeed, I loved 'Snatch.', it is one of my all-time favorites but everything Guy Ritchie has done ever since was downright disappointing so I was really glad to hear that he made a come-back. Unfortunately, this movie didn't really blow me away. I mean, even though I did like it, I thought it would be way better than this. Anyway, it was still a rather enjoyable and entertaining movie, no doubt about it. For example, Tom Wilkinson and Mark Strong really stole the show and made me laugh throughout the whole thing and Toby Kebell who I had never seen before was a great revelation. Furthermore, the plot was entertaining but I personally have enough of those convoluted British crime features, it is really time for Ritchie to up his game and show he is not just a one trick pony. So, you shouldn't expect too much like I did but it is still a fun movie.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, André Benjamin, Mark Strong

What was it about?
Gambler Jake Green enters into a game with potentially deadly consequences.

My two cents:
Between his huge flop and his come-back, Guy Ritchie made this really obscure flick which was barely noticed when it was released. Some people would argue that it is one of the best movies ever made but, honestly, it is not really that good. Basically, Ritchie tried to make his usual gangster flick but this time with some philosophical ideas added to it, some kind of mix between ‘Snatch’ and ‘Inception’. Of course, Ritchie went way over his head here and the whole thing never really worked. The best example is that the movie starts with 4 different quotes! I mean, to start a movie with one single quote is not really interesting but with 4 of them is just really lame, it gives you the feeling that the director doesn’t have any ideas of his own. Eventually, the rest of the movie was not much better, with a terribly murky plot. But don’t misunderstand me, it is not a bad movie at all. Indeed, the kinetic directing was quite awesome with some very neat visual things and Jason Statham really impressed me. Not only he wasn’t bald this time but I really had the feeling that the guy was actually acting for once and, even more surprising, he was really f*cking convincing. Furthermore, I think that the story really had some potential and it could have been indeed a great picture but I guess they were too ambitious and the whole thing just spun out of control.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Madonna, Bruce Greenwood, Elizabeth Banks, Jeanne Tripplehorn

What was it about?
A snooty socialite is stranded on a Mediterranean island with a communist sailor.

My two cents:
What was he thinking?!? 10 years after, we are still wondering... I mean, after directing 2 of the most acclaimed British features ever put on the silver screen, Guy Ritchie pretty much managed to torpedo his once so promising career. Some say he has made a come-back since 'RocknRolla' but, personally, I still think he has lost his touch but who knows? He might make something amazing again in the future. To be honest, I do think that the hatred against this movie is actually a little bit exaggerated. I mean, of course, it is completely misguided, really weak, rather boring and pretty much uninteresting but I have seen way worse. From a technical point of view, the whole thing looked pretty good and I don't think Madonna is such a bad actress. I mean, you might find her annoying in this flick, but she pretty much played herself so it is not as if she needed some major acting skills to pull it off. Still, it remains a wreckage and a massive blunder career-wise, absolutely no doubt about it.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Clive Owen, Madonna

What was it about?
The Driver now carries an arrogant rock star who is visiting a major city . The title character wants to get away from her bodyguards in the Driver's BMW. He soon gets tired of her and decides to have a bit of fun.

My two cents:
I always had a weak spot for those elaborate BMW commercials but this one was not among my favorites. At least, it was the short with the most humor in it, Guy Ritchie even poked fun at this (then-)wife but I didn't care much for it. Indeed, even though Madonna was supposed to play someone annoying, her performance was still pretty weak. On the other hand, Clive Owen was cool as usual and there was a pretty cool car chase but this short didn't really work for me. It is still worth a look though.

My rating: 06/10

Cast : Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Vinnie Jones, Rade Serbedzija, Ewen Bremner, Jason Flemyng

What was it about?
Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.

My two cents:
After this movie, Guy Ritchie was considered one of the most promising directors and I became a huge fan of his work. Unfortunately, he made afterwards the terrible 'Swept away'. Since then, his career has recovered but you can't say he has really fulfilled all those expectations. Still, this second directing effort was just brilliant. Indeed, I thought it was just a hilarious movie, completely entertaining and it was also so very well made. Indeed, the visuals and direction were just great, the story was just so damned entertaining from the beginning until the end with some awesome one-liners. There was also a bunch of actors present who all gave some great performances. Later on, Guy Ritchie tried to get the same vibe with 'RocknRolla' but even though it was enjoyable, it never reaches the level of this classic. I hope someday Ritchie will blow me away again like this.... Anyway, it is my favorite movie directed by Guy Ritchie and one hell of a great flick.

My rating: 09/10

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Cast : Jason Statham, Jason Flemyng, Vinnie Jones, Sting

What was it about?
A botched card game in London triggers four friends, thugs, weed-growers, hard gangsters, loan sharks and debt collectors to collide with each other in a series of unexpected events, all for the sake of weed, cash and two antique shotguns.

My two cents:
This movie was Ritchie's directing debut but even though I thoroughly enjoyed it, I tend to think it is actually rather overrated. The point is that it is so similar in tone and style to 'Snatch', Ritchie's only true masterpiece, that I tend to be rather dismissive towards his first directing effort. Basically, 'Lock, Stock...' was merely a warm-up, a nice one definitely, but still just a warm-up and not much more than that. Still, it remains a fun movie though. Back then, Jason Statham was not yet one of the biggest action stars but played a street-wise smart ass what was much more interesting than the usual tough guy he plays nowadays. Concerning the plot, it was not bad and entertaining enough but, again, compared to the awesomness displayed in 'Snatch', it wasn't really that impressive. To conclude, even though I don't think it deserves its spot on the Imdb top 250, it still remains a fun and entertaining crime comedy.

My rating: 07/10

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