Very funny, fantastic script

Rating: 10/10 (27 March 2003)

Snatch Review In 1998 Guy Ritchie released his amusing view of the British Underworld called Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Now he's gone one step further with Snatch, which was one of the funniest movies I saw in 2000. With an all-star cast this movie will have you laughing until you cry. It is black comedy at it's very best. Starting in Antwerp, a man by the name of Frankie Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) holds up a diamond dealer and gets his hands, or all nine fingers if you will, on very large diamonds. He then takes those diamonds to London and arranges a meeting with Doug the Head (Mike Reid), a Jewish diamond dealer. Meanwhile Franky wants a gun, so he goes to Boris (Rade Serbedzija). In exchange for the gun, Boris sends Franky to the bookies to put money on an illegal boxing match. This is a set up as the bookies are to be robbed by two pathetic, black porn brokers. The plot now becomes very complex as the local crime boss Brick Top (Alan Ford) has been promised by the promoters Turkish (Jason Statham) and Tommy (Stephan Graham) that they will put up a fighter. The contestant, unfortunately, is hospitalised by a bare-knuckle gypsy-boxing champion. Meanwhile, the largest diamond is lost and everybody wants to find it including an American diamond dealer. Sound simple enough? Describing this complicated plot is not easy because it is so intertwined. In addition, I don't want to give away the very amusing scenarios. The experienced and talented cast includes Jason Statham (The Transporter) as the sarcastic fight organiser called Turkish. Alan Ford is the notorious crime boss, Brick Top and Brad Pitt (Fight Club) as Mickey O'Neil, the bare-knuckle boxing champion. Vinnie Jones (Mean Machine) plays hard man Bullet Tooth Tony and Benicio Del Toro, who later wins an Oscar for Traffic, is Franky Four Fingers, a man with a gambling problem. Dennis Farina (Get Shorty) is the impatient American diamond dealer Cousin Abraham 'Avi' Denovitz. Rade Serbedzija (The Quiet American) as the 'hard to kill' ex KGB Boris The Blade/Bulletdodger. Jason Flemyng (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) as Mickey's best friend Darren. These actors play their parts so well that you feel that you are part of this underground criminal culture. The nicknames are so descriptive of each of the characters. Directed by Guy Ritchie, this film seems like a sequel to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The style and feeling is almost exactly the same. The way in which he weaves separate stories together as though they are viewed from different angles. Since he is an English director he uses the typical Cockney slang that's common in the backstreets of London. The script is very clever in the terms of how much that slang is being used and although one may not be familia with the expressions it can be easily understood from the context. The opening sequence is ingenious. It moves from one person to another showing us who they are and what they do. It also shows us how all of these people are connected and sets the scene for the interesting plot that follows. As much as I loved Guy's first instalment this is by far the funnier of the two. Not only are the characters famous internationally but also they each play their parts to perfection reflecting their characters. The result is incredibly funny and well mixed. Rating: 5/5 Stars