Brazen, unadulterated cockney crime madness

Rating: 8/10 (11 June 2019)

The brilliance of Snatch is its pure mayhem. No sentence is wasted, threat without menace, or decision without consequences. The ragtag cast of misfits, elite thieves, mercenary thugs and illegitimate jewellers all connect via a web of misdeeds and criminal activity, allowing the story to expertly weave several stories together over the course of under 2 hours. Narrated by the pseudo-lead character, a boxing promoter named Turkish (Jason Statham), the progress of a large diamond robbery is charted throughout the bowels of London, causing a chain-reaction of events to shake the crime world.
The cast is exemplary: Benicia Del Toro, Vinnie Jones and Dennis Farina are all central roles, and Brad Pitt even requested a role in the film, such is his admiration for Guy Ritchie's work. Bright characters populate the world, giving each actor more scope to really embody their roles. The quickness of the script makes every interaction biting and aggressive, with the potential for a fight to break out any second. Guy Ritchie's personal cinematic tropes are also on full display: quick-cuts, split screen frames and tracking shots are all used to maximum effectiveness, enhancing the quirkiness of every scene.
The story almost becomes a subsection of the film - the novelty of the experience itself and the crass British humour really makes Snatch special, with a well-written script merely promoting its excellence. This film also has a degree of rewatchability that most films of the genre would lose - especially in a comedic sense. Snatch is unapologetic in its execution, and well worth your time.