Not quite as good as "Lock, Stock..." but definitely worthwhile

Rating: 8/10 (5 July 2009)

"Snatch", Guy Ritchie's follow-up to his surprise hit debut "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", contains many of the same elements that made his first film a hit. Again the story revolves around a wide range of criminals, this time from jewel thieves to Russian gangsters. There are two main threads to the plot: one following a number of individuals attempting to secure a valuable diamond and another following an unlicensed boxing manager who's gotten into the debt of a particularly ruthless promoter.
In my opinion the cast is a little better than the first film but again it contains no real standout performance. There is an authenticity to the performances, even that of Brad Pitt, who delivers my favorite performance of his to date. As with the previous film, those who have trouble with accents may find some of the dialogue hard to follow, especially in the case of Pitt's character (though he's meant to be scarcely intelligible).
The story contains a lot of the inventiveness of Ritchie's earlier film but here it stretches out a bit further by having a couple of plot lines running parallel to one another. Ritchie pulls it off and does so with the same comedic touches that marked his first film.
Ritchie's direction is once again well-handled and here he shows even more polish than before. He rarely goes overboard with style but the film's slickness isn't quite as fitting as his previous feature's somewhat ragged look. As for the soundtrack, it's solid though it hasn't got nearly as many high points as the soundtrack for "Lock, Stock...".
In the end, this film is likely to please fans of Ritchie's first film and fans of crime films in general. That being said, as you can see by all of the references that I made to "Lock, Stock...", if you're looking for something completely original this isn't it.