Watchable, but muddy and a bit annoying

Rating: Null/10 (2 March 2004)

An over-written and preposterous script is somewhat saved by some good performances (particularly Brad Pitt as the gypsy boxer) and the occasional funny line (unfortunately there are far more lead balloons than knee-slappers.)
Zany madcap British comedy paired with grim and gratuitous violence makes for a pretty muddy mixture and the gimmicky editing becomes annoying after about five minutes. That said, the movie is somewhat enjoyable at times and the unexpected (for me at least) twist at the end somewhat satisfying.
I think it would have been a better movie if they cut every scene involving the diamond and focused entirely on the boxing storyline. Despite the attempts to join the two plots through common characters, they come off as two different movies competing for the viewers' interest (with the boxing scam easily beating out the silly diamond hijinks.)
The tone is self-congratulatory and you get a sense that the principals involved truly believe they are making a film of landmark importance. Call me crazy, but A British imitation of "Pulp Fiction" seems a pretty small blip on the radar screen of cinematic history. Pardon me mates, but I think you better find another savior for your film industry. I mean, the follow-up to this was the universally reviled "Swept Away." Granted it is virtually impossible to make a good movie with Madonna in it, but from what I have heard, "Swept Away" makes "Shanghai Surprise" look like high art.