Funny follow-up to Ritchie's impressive debut, full of fun and nifty camerawork.

Rating: Null/10 (14 July 2001)

SNATCH is a film, not unlike PULP FICTION, that blends together the lives of several colorful characters in unusual and entertaining ways. The film focuses mainly on a rather large diamond, which is stolen by Franky Four Fingers (Del Toro). This diamond passes from hand to hand in a dramatic series of events. A fight promoter named Turkish (Statham) finds himself forced in league with a sneaky gypsy fighter named Mickey (Pitt). If Turkish and his partner can't convince Mickey to take a dive in a fixed fight, they'll all face certain death at the hands of the sadistic Brick Top played by Alan Ford. When Franky Four Fingers shows up missing, Cousin Avi (Farina) flys to London to bust some heads, along with the help of local tough guy Bullet Tooth Tony (Jones). Two small time jewelry store owners and their portly pal find themselves unwittingly involved after kidnapping Franky, as ordered by a scary Russian arms dealer named Boris the Blade (Sherbedgia). Everyone connects as the story unfolds, and despite how confusing everything gets, the film makes sense of it all within the last 30 minutes. I liked SNATCH, if for no other reason because it plays against typical Hollywood formula. The characters, while exotic and mostly with fancy names, seemed more real than the average movie fella. The film feels a bit long, although it's average in running time. There are great moments, and then there are moments that seem to slow everything down. All in all every scene works together to build toward a collective ending, in which we get to see not necessarily a solution but rather a new beginning for the remaining players. This is truly an ensemble piece. I was surprised at how little Benicio had to do here. He opens the picture, but his character soon fades making way for the numerous others. Perhaps this was appropriate so that he wouldn't seem lost among the events. Brad Pitt is hilarious, yet still finds time to convey emotion in a few select scenes. Dennis Farina is Dennis Farina, and always does a good job. Vinnie Jones plays the tough guy role again, although a bit subdued. He gets a couple great scenes though, and still manages to look scary, even when he's smiling. The performance that truly got me came from Alan Ford as Brick Top. This guy is one mean dude! It's amazing how a man who's older than all of the other cast members can exude so much power and feel so threatening. Every time he showed up I was in fear for the characters around him. SNATCH has it's share of violence, which is only outdone by it's swear count. Fortunately it's all in good fun, and Guy Ritchie's creative directing throws us right in the middle of the action, which turns out to be a rather good time.