Title – Snatch (2000)

Director – Guy Ritchie (Revolver)

Cast – Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina, Stephen Graham, Benicio Del Toro, Lennie James, Alan Ford, Rade Sherbedgia, Vinnie Jones, Robbie Gee

Plot – A wide ranging collection of British crooks (and one particularly upset New York crim) converge into one big melting pot of set ups, stick ups and uncontrollable dogs when a giant stolen diamond hits the market and a boxer hits the canvas.

 “You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity”

Review by Eddie on 5/03/2015

Guy Ritchie’s endlessly quotable crime comedy caper is such a joyous watch that it’s not hard to see why it has become the renowned genre classic that it has established itself as today and is testament to the skill of Ritchie as a filmmaker that went missing for decade or so in the 2000’s only to return once more when he took control of a certain well known British staple.

Snatch is one of the finest ever examples of an ensemble comedy piece, every character both large or small feels totally brimming with life and personality and every single actor brings their A-game to material that must’ve been a blast playing out. Ritchie’s script offers something new each time you watch the film, as it’s witty and sarcastically tinged undertones keep the film fresh even to this day. It’s a real credit to the makers of the film that a seemingly simple story of a particularly large diamond, some wannabe boxing promoters and a deceptively smart bunch of Pikie’s works to the level it does. While Ritchie’s direction is energetic and smooth, skills he would virtually perfect with his stylish Sherlock films, it is his direction of his actors which is arguably the biggest reason behind Snatch’s success.

It would be worth bringing up that action staple Jason Statham has never been better, his Turkish a character that remains his most memorable. Statham is both funny and appealing in his role and whether surrounded by the then up and coming Stephen Graham as his business partner Tommy or the vile yet incredibly memorable Alan Ford as the evil Brick Top, Statham is on excellent form. While Statham may be the glue that holds the story strands together every actor and their respective creation gets a moment to shine. Fantastic bit plays are produced by Lennie James as store owner Sol, Vinnie Jones as the tank like Bullet Tooth Tony and Rade Sherbedgia as determined Boris The Blade all shine but all are overshadowed by one of Brad Pitt’s most memorable incarnations in the form of bare knuckle boxer Mickey. The way in which Pitt earned his role in Snatch is now a thing of legend and his barely understandable yet utterly awesome unwashed Pikie is a joy to behold and it’s a credit to an A-lister to appear in such a low key production.

A cleverly constructed and thoroughly entertaining film, Snatch is without a doubt one of, if not the crowning achievement in Ritchie’s filmography. With one of the funniest comedic scripts in recent cinematic history and with a raft of memorable and unique characters, this is British film at its most recommendable and ridiculously entertaining.

4 and a half anti-aircraft weapons out of 5