The Gentlemen

Big recycle festival of Guy Ritchies greatest hits, and i say that with a voice trembling of irony seeing how i’ve never liked his action comedies one bit. (If he drops the comedy i do think he’s a pretty apt director) It’s 25 fuckin years later innit and apparently they’re trying to squeeze a few more drops out of this crumpled and sad, dry lemon. A new criminal scouse or cockney of the week per episode, what a hell

As stated, this concerns those who live in the zoo but hunt in the jungle, and the struggle to compose the two. Perhaps less obvious is the bargain with the audience this entails – “please accept an aristocratic protagonist who increasingly gives in to his taste for murderous violence committed in the name of survival and family, and in return we’ll at least keep him more or less chaste”. Amusing and well-made, even if it’s all really just a tale of rich folk behaving badly and enjoying it.

a lot happened but there wasn't really any character development or satisfying conclusion. They just moved from one predictable problem to another predictable problem. At least watching the show I have realized my hatred for the British accent is gendered. Posh male accents make me want to start throwing tea in the river.

Wonder what the moral of the story is

protagonist makes all the wrong decisions and the writer saves him every time

Echoing a lot of ideas from his previous gangster movies makes this appear too familiar, and spreading them out over 8 hours kills that usual Ritchie fast pace (which was one of his strength). It remains entertaining but after a strong start if quickly feels too episodic, predictable and mundane. It's like somebody took a Guy Ritchie movie and made a typical Netflix series out of it. Oh wait...

Better than the movie

Not a lot of deep substance but it's a zany ride through aristocracy and organized crime

James & Scodelario do a good job to keep The Gentlemen entertaining, though Ritchie is just treading old ground here (even if he's channelling Tarantino a bit). The show is at its strongest when it's doing witty repartee, and at its weakest when its trying to set up a twist as the plot is too straightforward for any of them to work. Getting a little tired of our cultural obsession with aristocrats and wealth though.

I quite like Ritchies "writing on the screen" style of exposition, the homage to Tarantino, the ridiculousness, the "one note" style of speech, occasionally!... but after 8 episodes of the same formula it REALLY begins to pale. AS for the plot, It is not scary when the 2 main protagonists act like they are never really bothered! Why should we be if they arent? In this alternative reality where there are no police, of course things can be chaotic and there are a few laughs to be had, but phew

I do enjoy me the classic Guy Ritchie-ness of it all. Unfortunately it has some pacing issues and the story is a bit too episodic. Theo James does a nice job of making you forget that your protagonist is an aristocrat who doesn't deserve to be cheered on.

Not as good as the original movie, but it still has that Guy Ritchie comedy crime vibe mixed with really dark and uncomfortable moments.