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 [in comparison to his first Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)], Snatch is Guy Ritchie second take at movie making.

He is in this movie also the writer and director, his first movie (as mentioned above) was an instant classic, this one did not follow 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 (1998), the plot is just as complex. It is like you are watching two different plots unfold before your eyes.

We will start with that of a heist, which ends with Franky going to London on behalf of a jeweler to sell a diamond. Elsewhere we have Turkish who is a boxing promoter trying to arrange a fight. Things did not go well for Turkish when circumstances led to him having to sell the match to the other promoter. His fighter has to take a dive, which were the agreed terms.

As you would have expected things did not go according to plans, in the two stories numerous double crossing led to chaos, gunshots and many deaths, including injuries. Instead of an intertwining of stories directly from the start as you would have expected since that is how he did his first movie. Ritchie allowed each story to grow, have a foothold then first allowed actions from one story to influence the other. It carried on like this for much of the movie.

Just as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ended with you wondering what will happen next, that is how this ended also. Another thing that made the movie just as fun, is the way 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 like in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Although I do not know which movie had the most gunshots, but it seems Lock, Stock had the most shooting.

Ritchie’s obsession with gun violence later became a style of screenplay to which he will be known for. Snatch was a both a critical and commercial success.

After you get to watch Ritchie’s first film, you will be attached to see this one also. Both are worth watching and admiring.