Overhyped confusing movie

Rating: 3/10 (19 January 2019)

I watched this movie again recently after many years. It was entertaining enough as an evening's viewing, but afterwards I was left scratching my head, genuinely not understanding the hype - on any level. The best thing is probably the soundtrack.
The acting is abysmal. It makes Vinnie Jones' acting look good. It doesn't help the actors the script is abysmal. (Michael Caine can get away with being a bad actor because at least he has some charisma). The casting was bad because in addition to crap actors, in a plot with way too many characters, none of them developed, you need them to stand out visually from each other. With the exception of the Scousers and Hatchett Harry, they don't. I was grateful one actor, at least, had a high pitched voice and pony tail, because I found myself lost not knowing who the hell everyone was much of the time.
I note the script was written by Guy Ritchie - any other script writer and the film wouldn't have got made or would have had considerably more development first - exactly what it needed - for plot , character and dialogue. That and a bit more rehearsal time for the actors so they didn't sound like they were delivering lines at a read through. I'm a Londoner so didn't have any problems UNDERSTANDING the dialogue, but all the characters sounded the same - none speak in a unique voice. Same flat characters (with absolutely no development or back story) in dull monotone voices delivering what is supposed to be witty dialogue full of one liners.... when EVERYBODY sounds like that it sounds like a pretentious script writer trying to be cool, clever and failing miserably. Far better imo to have one character doing the witty one liners for impact.
The Scousers can be funny at times - I don't care about stereotypes) but they could have been even funnier by toning it down a bit. The British are known for subtlely, and I think that's what this movie needed to make it into the cracker of a film it could have been.
The plot is confusing with way too many characters we can't follow running around, many things happening for the sake of happening. I think there was one woman in the whole film. Not sure they even employed female extras. Much of the plot is thin and cookie cooker, ripped off from other movies. The violence is not funny and it's not shocking either. It's pointless. It fails miserably on all front. As for style, Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dog, Train Spotting etc s it is not. It failed on the styling front for me too - costume wise and cinematically.
Perhaps it did so well at the time due to hype and the lack of cool British gangster films at the time. Watch it for something to watch by all means, but not for a piece of great British cinema, because that's most definitely what it is not.