Snatch This Movie!

Rating: 9/10 (3 September 2000)

Quite how this movie will fare internationally is uncertain, especially because many of its most prosperous jokes rely heavily on the more absurd pronounciations of cockney slang and incomprehensible drawl. But having overcome these minor problems, as well as the traditional stereotyping of the cockneys, Irish and Americans (among others), the film is wholly enjoyable.
Most impressive for a relatively low-budget movie such as this were the camera effects and the soundtrack. Director Guy Ritchie is such a master of the former that some of his more contrived camera angles and movements were alone enough to invoke laughter. Many of the jokes are in fact derived from the excellent script, which was in part written by Ritchie himself, although some of the humour originates from the brilliant acting.
There will of course be some who complain that "Snatch" degrades cinema, inciting audiences to laugh at violence. But it is only because the movie is so involving and evocative that the audience feels morally secure enough to cheer on, and laugh with, the gangsters on screen. The most promising thing about this film is that Guy Ritchie has proved himself to be a more than capable director, and not just a one-hit wonder (his previous movie, "Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (1998)," was also critically acclaimed).

The US has always been quite reluctant in its uptake of foreign movies, especially those as alien as "Snatch." But this movie is so funny, and its plot is so clever, that it is well worth seeing, even if you are American. I'd pay $10 to see this any day. 9 out of 10.