Snatch (2000)

Snatch (2000)

7/10

Starring

Benicio del Toro

Dennis Farina

Jason Flemyng

Vinnie Jones

Brad Pitt

Rade Sherbedgia

Jason Statham

Directed by Guy Ritchie

Having the same design, directing style, theme (British crime comedy), and almost the same actors (compared to his first Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)), Snatch is Guy Ritchie’s second take at filmmaking. He is also the writer and director of this movie, and while his first film was an instant classic, this one doesn’t stray far from it.

He assembled a cast of seasoned actors for this movie, and each took their role as their own. Like in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the plot is just as complex. It feels like you’re watching two different plots unfold before your eyes.

We’ll start with the heist, which ends with Franky going to London on behalf of a jeweler to sell a diamond. Elsewhere, we have Turkish, a boxing promoter trying to arrange a fight. Things don’t go well for Turkish when circumstances force him to sell the match to another promoter. His fighter has to take a dive, which were the agreed terms.

As you would expect, things don’t go according to plan. In the two stories, numerous double-crosses lead to chaos, gunshots, and many deaths, including injuries. Instead of intertwining the stories directly from the start, as you might expect (since that’s how he did his first movie), Ritchie allows each story to grow and gain a foothold before letting actions from one story influence the other. It continues like this for much of the movie.

Just like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ended with you wondering what would happen next, Snatch ends in much the same way. Another thing that makes the movie fun is how Ritchie never seems to focus on one person as the lead.

The movie was a box-office hit, and we get to see a lot of guns and blood, much like in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Although I’m not sure which movie had more gunshots, it seems like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels had the most shooting. Ritchie’s obsession with gun violence later became a defining style of screenplay for him. Snatch was both a critical and commercial success.

After watching Ritchie’s first film, you’ll definitely want to see this one too. Both are worth watching and admiring.

If you see other Ritchie movies, you will notice the editing style, which focuses on guns getting loaded. This like the other early Ritchie British movies are memorable and worth seeing.