Snatch

Plot synopsis:
The film opens as we see boxing promoter Turkish (Jason Statham) and his naive partner Tommy (Stephen Graham), sitting nervously before an unseen man, in London. Turkish gives a brief narration about the circumstances, then the movie really takes off. We then jump to Antwerp, where gangster and compulsive gambler Frankie Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) and his buddies, dressed like rabbis, pull off a daring robbery and nab an 86-karat diamond (throughout the rest of the film, it's either 86-karat or 84-karat, depending on which character states it, or it loses value after going through so many hands). One of Frankie's men is the brother of ex-KGB gangster Boris the Blade (Rade Serbedzija), aka Boris the Bullet-Dodger, named due to his unique ability to defy death. Boris is now in the business of selling guns on the blackmarket, and lures Frankie to buy a gun, in order to steal the diamond.Meanwhile, Frankie has contacted jewelry retailer Doug the Head (Mike Reid) about the diamond. Doug lives in the Jewish community of London, although he himself is not even Jewish. Nevertheless, Doug contacts his Cousin Avi (Dennis Farina) in New York about the diamond. Avi sounds very interested, and tells Doug to keep Frankie close and interested in selling.At the same time, Turkish and Tommy are preparing for a big bout, using their premier boxer, Gorgeous George. Tommy is being overprotective these days, and carries a small firearm that he bought from Boris the Blade. Turkish and Tommy run a legitimate slot machine business on the side, to compensate for the illegal boxing that they participate in, and their office is a run-down caravan. Turkish is unimpressed by doing deals in such a crappy environment, so he urges Tommy to go buy a new caravan from a traveling band of gypsies (or pikies, as everyone else calls them). Tommy goes to the campsite, accompanied by Gorgeous George. It's there that they meet One Punch Mickey O'Neil (Brad Pitt), a tough, indecipherable part-time pugilist. Tommy buys the caravan, but as he and Gorgeous George are leaving, the wheels of the caravan almost immediately fall off. Tommy asks for the money back, but Mickey refuses. Gorgeous George demands the money back, and starts throwing his weight around, unti Mickey decides that he and Gorgeous George fight for it. They have a bare-knuckle brawl, and while Mickey is still removing his hat and shirt, Goregous George starts throwing punches. He beats Mickey up for awhile, until Mickey lays just one punch into Gorgeous George, knocking him out cold. Tommy reports back to Turkish about the bad news regarding Gorgeous George, but tells Turkish about Mickey's mean left cross. With Gorgeous George out of commission, Turkish is in dutch with debt to. Brick Top is very pissed that Gorgeous George is not going to fight, due to all the bets that were placed on him. Turkish, desperate, turns to Mickey, who says he'll do the fight if Turkish buys his mother a new caravan. Brick Top is not too impressed by this change in the cast, but allows Mickey to fight in place of Gorgeous George, granted that Mickey will take the dive in the fourth round.During his meeting with Frankie, Boris the Blade convinces the gambler to go place a bet on the fights that night. Frankie is interested, and does so. To get the diamond, Boris hires inept pawnbrokers, Vinny (Robbie Gee) and Sol (Lennie James), to rob the bookie and steal the briefcase (containing the diamond) from Frankie. Boris gets the briefcase (its contents unknown to Vinny and Sol) and the pawnbrokers get the cash, roughly 10,000 pounds. Vinny and Sol enlist a getaway driver named Tyrone (Ade), a man so large he has trouble getting out of the car. Also along for the ride is a dog that Vinny found. The dog is very restless, always chewing and biting things, and even swallows its squeaky toy, making it squeak whenever it barks.Frankie parks his van in front of the bookie's, and goes to the back to change. Just then, the pawnbrokers crash into his van, knocking Frankie out cold. The pawnrokers stakeout the bookie's, until it's time.Meanwhile, Turkish is very nervous about the fight, and urges Mickey continuously to go down in the fourth. Mickey just nods. When the fight begins, Mickey throws the first punch, and knocks the other fighter out cold. Now, Turkish and Tommy are in big trouble. Brick Top is not very happy.Vinny and Sol finally decide to rob the bookie's. When they enter the building and draw their guns, the girl working the counter immediately hits the alarm, closing off all of the windows and doors, trapping Vinny and Sol inside. Vinny is actually trapped in the closed window, half of his body hanging out. Sol blows a hole in the wall with his shotgun, and tells the girl to lower the window so Vinny can get free. She does, Vinny falls to the ground, and Sol tells the girl to hand over the money. She says there is no money, since all bets are off. There's only a few coins. When Sol accidentally places his shotgun down for a second, the girl grabs it, fires at them, and closes the window. Sol fires his pistol at the door trying to break the glass, but the bullet ricochets, hitting Vinny in the leg. Both men take off their masks, only to see the security camera looking straight at them. Suddenly, Tyrone pushes the door open, and the three run back to the car. As they are preparing to leave, they see Frankie, now awake, exiting his van. Tyrone walks up to him and knocks him out cold with the butt of his pistol. He tries taking the briefcase, but it's attached to Frankie's arm, so Tyrone puts Frankie's unconscious body in the car with him and the pawnbrokers.Back in New York, Avi is hounding Doug the Head about the whereabouts of Frankie. Doug says he's looking, but can't find him. Actually, Doug isn't looking, and Avi knows this, so he flies to London himself. Avi reems out Doug about not finding the diamond, and sets his sights on getting it himself.At the pawnshop, Vinny, Sol and Tyrone have Frankie tied to a chair, a sack over his head. Boris the Blade enters, and asks why they brought Frankie with them, instead of just cutting off his arm and taking the briefcase. Vinny tells Boris there was no money at the bookie, so Boris compensates them with the 10,000 pounds in cash upfront. Vinny declines, saying that he and his pals are more interested in the diamond. They opened the case, and found the stone, and demand half of whatever it's worth. Boris explains that whatever is in the briefcase is his, but Vinny won't listen and walks away. Boris, angry but cool about it, pulls out his gun, and shoots Frankie in the head. The pawnbrokers are now scared out of their wits. Boris demands the diamond, but the pawnbrokers had put it back in the briefcase and only Frankie knew the combination. Boris, getting very agitated, pulls out a meat cleaver, and hacks off Frankie's arm. He takes the briefcase, with the arm still attached, and tells the pawnbrokers they can keep the 10,000 pounds, as well as the body. It's now their problem.Turkish returns home, and finds Brick Top with two of his goons waiting for him. Brick Top explains that Turkish is in deep trouble, however, Brick Top was impressed by Mickey's style, and tells Turkish that he wants to use the gypsy in a bare-knuckle fight coming up, with Mickey still going down in the fourth. Turkish agrees, and Brick Top leaves, but not until taking most of Turkish's money to compensate for Mickey's stubborness. Now, Brick Top wants to know who tried to hit the bookie, so he and his goons watch the security tape. They don't recognize Sol and Vinny, but one of the goons recognizes Tyrone when he opened the door.Turkish and Tommy venture back out to the campsites, and find Mickey and his friends "coursing" , a game that involves hungry dogs chasing a hare. Turkish asks Mickey to fight in the bare-knuckle brawl. Mickey tells the promoters that he still wants the caravan for his mother, but he'll place a bet about his conditions of fighting. If the hare gets away, Turkish has to pay up, but if the dogs capture the hare, Mickey will fight for free. They let the hare go, and the dogs chase after it. This scene is intercut with Brick Top's goons locating, chasing and capturing Tyrone, putting him in a hole with angry dogs. Tyrone tells Brick Top everything about the robbery. At the same time, the hare, after some close calls, escapes with its life. Turkish has to look into getting the caravan. On the drive back to town, Tommy tries to test out the gun that Boris sold to him, but it's defective and won't fire.Avi, growing very upset with Doug, decides to hire a troubleshooter by the name of Bullet-Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones), who, as legend has it, took six bullets in one sitting, and survived. Tony agrees to work for Avi, and the two, along with Avi's sidekick, Rosebud, go to get information. Tony grabs a con named Mullet (Ewen Bremner, "Spud" from "Trainspotting") off the street, traps his head in the car window, and drives down the street, with Mullet running along side the car, until Mullet spills the beans, and reveals to them about the pawnbrokers.Back at the pawnshop, Vinny and Sol are trying to dispose of Frankie's body, when suddenly Brick Top walks in. He explains to them the best way to dispose of the body is to feed the flesh to pigs. That's his method, anyways. Brick Top leads them to their outer office, where a group of goons wait, with bodybags, butcher knives, etc., basically preparing for the pawnbrokers' demise. Sol, in desperation, tells Brick Top about the diamond, and says that he and Vinny can get it for him in four days. Brick Top agrees, but gives them 48 hours instead.Turkish tells Brick Top the demands regarding the upcoming bout. He says that Mickey's mother wants a new caravan. Brick Top is very pissed that Turkish would have the balls to demand things of him, so he decides to put his message across. Some goons smash up Turkish's slot machines. Turkish knocks two of them out, but they eventually nab him, and are about to cut off his arm, when Tommy walks in, with his defective gun, and gets him and Turkish out of there. Brick Top also wants to make clear to Mickey about his point, so he burns down Mickey's mother's caravan...with his mother inside. Mickey tries to save her, but his friends hold him back, as the flames grow higher.Tony and Avi go over to the pawnbrokers, where Vinny reveals, with Tony's gun to his head, that it was all Boris the Blade's idea. Tony is surprised to hear this name, and tells Avi about Boris. While they are waiting at Doug the Head's jewelry shop, they see Boris enter on the security camera. Rosebud says he'll take care of Boris. The next cut shows Rosebud, Tony and Avi in the car, all a little beaten up. They got Boris, though, and put him in their trunk, with a little difficulty. They go over to Boris' house, and get the diamond.The pawnbrokers don't have any guns, but they purchase some replicas with extra loud blanks to get back the diamond from Boris. They're tipped off by Tyrone that he found Boris, but he wasn't alone. That's when the bizarre car montage begins...The pawnbrokers are following Avi and Tony when suddenly they hit someone standing in the street.Turkish and Tommy are driving along in their Land Rover, and Tommy is explaining why it's bad for Turkish to drink milk. Tommy grabs the milk, and tosses it out of the window, only to hear a crash.Tony is driving Avi and Rosebud, and Avi says that he wants to kill Boris. Tony suggests shooting him. Avi says it's too loud. Tony suggests stabbing. Avi says it's too cold-blooded. Tony says they should stab him, and tells Rosebud to pull out a blade from under the seat. Rosebud pulls out a large sword, when suddenly...a carton of milk splashes onto the windshield, causing Tony to crash. Tony and Avi are fine, but Rosebud is dead, the sword sticking out of him. Avi looks across the street and sees Boris, tied up with a sack over his head, walking around, until suddenly hit, by the pawnbroker's car.Turkish and Tommy are now at Boris', with Tommy ready to demand his money back for the defective gun. Suddenly, Boris, still very much alive and angry, walks by them. Tommy tries to talk to him, but Boris racks him. Boris walks inside his house, and grabs a large assault rifle, like the one in "Scarface."Tony and Avi, trying to keep it cool, go into a nearby pub to clean up. Avi goes to the bathroom with the diamond. Tony goes to the bar, and orders a pint. The pawnbrokers walk in, in masks with their replicas, and point them at Tony, who is very calm. They demand to know where the diamond is, but Tony says that they're not going to get anywhere with those guns, considering they have "replica" written down the side of them. Tony draws their attention to his gun, which has Desert Eagle .50 written down the side of it. The pawnbrokers leave, but while they are in the hall, Avi opens the bathroom door. The pawnbrokers point their replicas at Avi, and demand the diamond. Avi says they're going to have to shoot him. Suddenly, Boris enters, with his assault rifle, and he's about to shoot everyone. Tony is in the other room, but can hear everything. He finds the hall door is locked, and yells for Avi to grab his socks ("get down!"). Avi and the pawnbrokers drop to the ground, as Tony fires round after round through the wall, hitting Boris. Vinny and Sol get up, grab the case, and run, leaving Tyrone behind. Tony walks into the hallway, reloads, and shoots Boris a few more times. But Boris is still alive. It takes the entire round, and a shot to the head to finally kill Boris the Bullet-Dodger. Tony also tries to shoot Tyrone, but the gun is empty.Vinny and Sol, now that they have the diamond, are about to give it to Brick Top, when Tony suddenly appears. Vinny hides the diamond in his pants, and tells Sol to tell Tony and Avi it's back at the pawnshop. They all go back to the pawnshop. Vinny's dog has torn the place up, shredding papers and defecating on the floor. Avi tells Tony to open a window. Vinny says the diamond is missing, the dog must have eaten it. Avi tells Tony to open the dog up, but Vinny resists. There's a lot of commotion, and Vinny finally hands the diamond over to Avi. Avi admires the diamond, but the dog suddenly jumps up and grabs the diamond with its mouth. Avi is very angry now, and grabs Tony's gun and starts firing everywhere. The dog jumps out of the open window. Avi tells Tony to follow him, but Tony isn't going anywhere. Avi realizes that he just accidently killed Tony. This sends Avi back to New York.During O'Neil's wake, Mickey gets very, very drunk. Turkish and Tommy wake him up, and get him ready for the fight. Brick Top tells the gypsy to do as he says, considering there's a handful of men waiting at the campground, armed and awaiting Brick Top's instructions to kill the other gypsies, should Mickey disobey him. Mickey once again must go down in the fourth. Turkish yells at Mickey not to knock the other fighter out. The bout begins, and Mickey once again opens with his mean left cross, knocking the other fighter down, but not out. The fight really starts, and the two are merely trading licks. Mickey is not fighting like he normally does, and is soon taking a beating. Finally, in the fourth round, after taking some mighty hits, Mickey is knocked hard to the ground. As he hits the ground, the floor of the mat suddenly turns into water, and Mickey is swimming underwater, looking above to see himself lying down with the other fighter above him. All Mickey has to do now is stay down. However, Mickey swims back up into his body, and, with one swift punch, knocks the other fighter out cold. Brick Top rushes outside. He wants to shoot Turkish, Mickey and Tommy as they are leaving. Brick Top calls one of his men on his cell phone, and hears gunfire. He hangs up, and as Turkish, Mickey, and Tommy are getting to their car, Brick Top knocks on the window of his car, and demands that his goon give him a gun. Suddenly, there's a shot.We then retrace back, with Turkish's narration, that Mickey was expecting the ambush on the campsite. The other gypsies surround Brick Top's men, and blow them away. When Brick Top called one of his men, Mickey's buddy answers, and says that Brick Top is going to speak up if his friend wants to hear him. Mickey's friend then shoots Brick Top's man. The gypsies are also waiting in Brick Top's car, and when Brick Top demands a gun, one of the gypsies roll down the window, and shoots Brick Top in the face. Mickey takes off with the gypsies, leaving Turkish and Tommy a bit confused.The next day, Turkish and Tommy go to the campsite, to find it abandoned. The gypsies left in the middle of the night. Some police officers arrive, and ask Turkish what he's doing there. Suddenly, Turkish spots Vinny's dog, and tells the officer he was walking his dog. Tommy grabs the dog, and he and Turkish leave, only to pass by Vinny and Sol by their car on the side of the road, being questioned by cops why they have a dead man missing his arm in their trunk. Turkish goes on to explain that Tommy wanted to keep the dog, but Turkish made it go to the vet, to stop the squeaking. While at the vet, they discovered the diamond, and now we are back to the first scene of the film, with Turkish and Tommy sitting nervously across from an unseen man. Turkish is inquiring about the diamond, and the camera does a quick dolly to reveal Doug the Head, who says he might know someone interested in it. We cut back to see Avi boarding a plane for London.

Tags: comedy, dark, neo noir, murder, cult, violence, flashback, clever, psychedelic, humor, entertaining

Review:
This time however, it all looks somewhat slicker and better funded, and alongside the British regulars are the odd American celebrity (Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Toro).Everyone in the film puts in an excellent performance, but Pitt stands out as a charismatic and near-incomprehensible Gypsy boxer.Like Ritchie's earlier film, this one takes a little while to find its feet, but once it does the pace doesn't slacken until the finale.
The camera work and editing complement each other to keep the film's pace on its toes, much like the boxers at the center of the character's stories.Jason Statham has some of THE best lines in the movie, constantly slamming anything even slightly intelligent his partner Tommy has to say.
Even though the story line is only a simple one (following a massive Diamond through England's criminal underworld), it is the connections each character has to the diamond and each other that really makes this film stand out from all the usual jewel-heist films.Another 10 / 10 from me on this one, it's just a pity the follow up to Snatch was a "collaborative effort" from Mr. Richie and his um.......wife..
`Snatch', written and directed by Guy Ritchie is by far one of my favorite films of all time  it is easily in my personal Top Thirty.
Let's see if we can keep this straight:Turkish (Jason Statham) and his partner Tommy (Stephen Graham) are amateur boxing promoters who, after their premier fighter is wounded, have to find a replacement to fight, or one of the meanest guys in London, Brick Top (Alan Ford), who just happens to run the boxing matches and stands to make a lot of money off of the fight is going to impart his unique brand of justice on them.
Every single actor in `Snatch' looks like they are having one hell of a good time working in the film.
`Snatch' would be a great film due to its story alone, but Guy Ritchie's direction is so dead on, the film transcends brilliant and becomes FAN-insert your choice of expletive here-TASTIC.
While this was not the first time I had seen the film `Snatch', it was the first time I'd watched the film knowing that I would have to analyze it slightly in order to funnel my thoughts from the film just being `Phenomenal!' to `Phenomenal because..'  While I can certainly be classified as an unabashed Madonna fan, and have been for the last two decades, I REALLY hope that Ritchie decides to drop his wife from his film work and not continue on the `Swept Away' path, rather, to get back to the work that has earned him well-deserved high praise.
Good preformances, fantastic characters, razor sharp diologue, expert direction and camera work and brilliant humour, Snatch will make you laugh more than any other movie this year.
(You should see him in anything he made, and read my comment about John Carpenter's movie: "Ghosts of Mars.")Alan Ford as "Brick Top" is terrifying - his forced speaking style made me think that he was chewing on the flesh of his previous victim.Vinnie Jones as "Bullet Tooth Tony" is total tough head to foot tough - a walking brick wall - a marine for all seasons - none tougher.Brad Pitt as "Mickey O'Neil" is utterly 110% convincing.
If you aren't confused yet, you soon will be."Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", Mr. Madonna's (Ritchie) first film, was shot on a small budget, with a no-name cast (except for football bad boy Vinnie Jones) and quickly became a rousing success at home and found receptive audiences abroad.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the dog that subtly stole every scene he appeared in.While "Snatch" initially struggles to find its stride, and is very similar to Ritchie's earlier film, it is fresh and funny enough to make you forget any minor shortfalls and stand on its own..
First off, for those of you who have seen Snatch's predecessor, (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), you know that Guy Richie (the writer and director of both films) has a very music-video style as far as the camera angles, movements, and cinematography goes.
I was expecting him to be a lead character, but he's not.So, in conclusion, if you have never seen Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, I would see that first before seeing Snatch so you can get adjusted to Guy Richie's style.
A gypsy, played by American Brad Pitt, is almost intelligible.This is why I strongly recommend you use English subtitles while watching this film, at least for the first viewing, or you will totally lost.
The characters are so strange, so cartoon-like, that - combined with the unique visuals - it makes it a fascinating film to watch every time.
There is a good mix of young and old actors in here.This is a guy's movie with the top dozen actors in this film all tough-talking, almost-crude men (plus a funny dog).
The film is much better cast that it deserves!Statham and Graham are the least colourful characters in the piece and Ritchie knows it  so despite being the leads, they often play second fiddle and only act as the catalyst.
I'm 14 years old now, and I knew almost nothing about cinema back then, and I had never seen such a movie like Snatch, and it's style!
Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones and the rest were great, but Brad Pitt totally stole the show!I was thinking to myself "This movie can't be any better!", but then it got better!
Because if you come into the movie actually looking for a great story with great acting and diverse, interesting characters, well, you won't get it.
But if you've decided you like "hip, cool, wise cracking British gangsters" and Guy Ritchie's ADD style of directing before you even sit down, then you'll decide this is just what you thought it would be, and give it a 10.That's the only way I can fathom how people thought this was a great movie, let alone a good movie.
Not only was it from the director of 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', one of my favourite UK movies of all time, but it had Brad Pitt in, who since Twelve Monkeys and Fight Club is my numero uno cool actor.But I ended up greeting many of the attempts at humour with a stoney face, found some of the images (notably the one with the body bags) just gross and distasteful and the entire plot lacking in the FUN that had been Lock, Stock.The plot didn't seem to weave as much - the diamond changed hands predictably, the comedy dog wasn't and some of the gags were so...sitcom-like.
That's funny repetition.The violence didn't fit with the cheeky style the film attempted...It makes me angry to think how much better Lock, Stock is.
Though Brad Pitt's character is very funny, there is a moment, when his caravan is burning down, of a sad intensity in his eyes, there was nothing like this in "Lock Stock".
In this fast-paced thriller-comedy Ritchie again takes us into the 'underworld' of England and this time he does it with more assured direction than in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
It's pretty good yes, but not harmonic.When I say more 'assured' direction on Richie's part, I mean that in Snatch, every scene and character serves a purpose - unlike in Lock, Stock where longer segments were often used.
Have to see it again..I didn't see 'Lock, Stock,...' so cannot say Guy Ritchie made the same movie twice, which some reviewers have alluded to.
But if that is half as good as this, its got to be worth a look.Brad Pitt joins a distinguished group that includes Dustin Hoffman in 'Dick Tracy', and Robert Carlyle in 'Trainspotting', as Movie Characters Who You Don't Understand Half of What They Are Saying...but that didn't matter one bit, it added to the overall enjoyment..
The movie is made in the same style as the previous Guy Ritchie movie, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels".
Jason Statham who made his debut in "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" plays the main character in this movie.
Not that more of the same is a bad thing in this case but it's just of course not as refreshing and original as with "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" was the case.If you like a well constructed movie with a solid and complex story told from multiple points of views this is a sort of movie that you'll love.
SNATCH (2000) Director Guy Ritchie flix this must have movie into the South - English culture with brutal gangsters and one punching taters.Brad Pitt, Jason Statham, Benicio del Toro, Dennis Farina and Vinnie Jones, all this good actors operates in this violent crime comedy that really entertians you!
It may have some things like remind you off Fight Club and stuff, but it is without doubt very much the same of Ritchie's other English gangster movie Lock, Stock and Two smoking Barrels (also with Vinnie Jones).
The story is fast and very nice put together where you switch cameras sometimes and may in the background you can see things happening in the other camera view, very good Guy!Statham is great and together with his partner Tommy they work for a brtual and disgusting gangster boss.
So, if you are not an adolescent boy, don't waste your time and electricity watching this movie despite the talented actors who signed on to collect monies to pay their bills.That being said, IMDb's Guy Ritchie biographer quotes Ritchie as saying, "He never attended film school, saying that the work of film school graduates was boring and unwatchable." Really?
Filled with very memorable characters, very creative direction and editing and top notch performances from everyone involved, Snatch is very easy to recommend and is a riot when watching it with friends (Who have very dark tastes.) Go and watch this movie today if possible 10 out of 10..
Also there is a lack of "normal" characters for the eccentrics to play off of.The only positive thing I can say about "Snatch" is that this is the best acting I have ever seen from Brad Pitt.
And if anyone was up for the task, it was visionary director Guy Ritchie, sweeping into theaters fresh off his cult classic Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels to deliver his most hard hitting, savagely funny and effortlessly stylish film to date - Snatch.
Though this may be familiar ground for those who have seen Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Guy Ritchie's Snatch is no less enjoyable as a result - brutally violent, caustic and hilarious, with Ritchie's trademark sense of incomparable style.
Snatch is definitely much better than Ritchies first movie "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and is one of the most underrated films ever.
The acting is good, story is even better, Ritchie is one of the best new directors and everyone should go out and see his movies.
Why Guy Ritchie didn't do more like this I couldn't guess (Lock, stock & 2 smoking barrels is also a must see).
Add to that a fantastic cast, including Benicio Del Toro, Vinnie Jones, Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, the dog, and Alan Ford as the sweet-natured Brick Top. Add to *that* that Guy Ritchie's fantastic way of using his camera and music to give the fantastic flair that is the trademark of his "lorry-gangsta" films.
I saw Guy Ritchie's "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and thought it was an extremely disappointing piece of '90s cinema - I specify it was made in the 1990s because it's another one of those Quentin Tarantino rip-offs that borrow his directorial trademarks - the violence punctuated by irony and dark humor, the intertwining stories, the morally dark characters who have no remorse."Snatch" is a great deal better.
Brad Pitt basically mumbles his way through the movie and he and his pack really do come across as genuine Pikeys.I hate to sound like a typical American when I say "Snatch" is better than "Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels," but I honestly think the plot, the direction and the acting is superior here.
Guy Ritchie was brilliant to come out with that kind of scenario and the execution was great with good actors (Brad Pitt, Vinnie Jones....).
Vinnie Jones excels in the role of a London hard nut it's what he does best and the accomplices of the Russian are brilliantly funny and lighten the dark and gritty reality of the plot considerably A definite work of extreme style form Guy Ritchie with an urban soundtrack to match the plot, this film is a welcome follow-up to "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" which is also worth watching.
However, don't let this distract you from what is a very funny, well-shot and visually enjoyable film.Guy Ritchie propels the story along with blistering pace trying to fit a fast range of characters and in some cases this can become confusing to who is who and what is what.
All I say is that don't go and see this film and expect to see anything different to 'Lock Stock' in the story department, however, if you liked Ritchie's stylist touches then you will defiantly enjoy this cause it is full of them.
It never once bored me, and all the characters acted to the best the of their abilities, including the star of the show, Brad Pitt.I would recommend this film to anyone who likes London gangster flicks.
If anything, strangely enough, it feels like Lock was the more mature film made some years later, not before.It's not as smooth in the action sequences, it's got too much talking that doesn't amount to much effect, pretty stupid braindead type dialog, supposedly witty but really completely forgettable banal lines, tries hard in many places; something like Brad Pitt's character was good in concept but honestly could've been much funnier in execution, they could've really made him sound hilarious when here he's just confusing to listen to.Where 'Lock' had lots of well incorporated subplots and micro-twists, this here gets overcomplicated too fast, too many characters, and the viewer can't be screwed to put in all that effort to remember insignificant details, as the film never makes it a point to warrant your full attention on every aspect of this very ordinary production.
it was the first Guy Ritchie film i saw and since then i have been watching every movie he has ever made.
Brad Pitt plays a bad ass character as mickey he does some great boxing scenes.
Having seen Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels by the same writer/director, Guy Ritchie, and loved it, I very much looked forward to seeing this film.
And he wouldn't be totally wrong because "Snatch." can be looked as a plagiarism in tone and story structure of his 1998 hit film, same assortment of characters with colorful nicknames, same intertwined plots, same use of frenetic editing, slow, fast or stop motions, Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones and Tom Ford reprising different roles and a screenplay loaded of one-liners, quirks and wisecracks, though not as memorable as the first.So accusing Ritchie of the whole "style over substance" isn't just pointless, it's unfair in the way he didn't attend to do anything substantial, his "Snatch." Is as much a joke as "Lock Stock".But he can't get away with this argument either, not totally.
A comedy where the focus is the story can afford slower moments, in the case of Ritchie's movies, it depends on who's on the screen and on that level, there are three characters steal the show.Vinnie Jones, as Bullet Tooth Tony, provides a monologue that almost equals Dirty Harry's description of a Magnum, and with the same intimidating effect, Tom Ford as the nasty-looking bespectacled Brick Top is quite convincing as someone to make you curse your mother for giving you birth if you ever owed his money and Brad Pitt overplays his mumbling accent as if he was conscious that the whole thing didn't even need to be clear, a stunt that reminded me of Benicio Del Toro in "The Usual Suspects".
Guy Ritchie doesn't like flying!The main criticism I'd heard regarding this film was that it was just more of the same from its predecessor Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
This guy is such a good actor yet so under appreciated.....weirdly, although I had a problem with Lock, Stock's accents....i understood Pitt's Pikey accent at times when the movie characters couldn't.
Anyway, if you like movies, like Reservoir Dogs, or Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, you'll enjoy Snatch..
nobody baby...Snatch is great ...beautiful made ...great script...excellent acting and actors ...i am not a Brad Pitt fan but as a gipsy he was fantastic.Jason Statham was at his best performance yet...and what more do i need to say about Alan Ford.He is the best SOB ever on screen.The director is a genius and has proven not to be a one hit wonder...The result: The best film since Pulp Fiction.And one more : thing beware Hollywood , England is just around the corner.P.S.Look for Vinnie Jones and J.
I thought the only good thing about this movie was Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro.
Also the humor is great at times, maybe at larger doses than expected, which makes 'Snatch' a comedy more than anything else.By the way, has anyone noticed that in Guy Ritchie's movies everybody pronounces 'TH' as 'F'?
"Lock, Stock.." also introduced Jason Statham with whom Ritchie went on to making two more films and Vinnie Jones, a football player turned an actor.
I loved it possibly my favourite film along side of lock stock also written and directed by guy Ritchie.
I've just watched Snatch and I must say that it is one worst films I've seen in quite some time.
Basically, if you like crime films, British folk, and good old fashion dry humor, then "Snatch" is a movie you need to see.