“The Gentlemen” is directed by Guy Ritchie who also did films such as, “Snatch”, “The Man From U.N.C.L.E”, “Sherlock Holmes” , “Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows” & “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hannum, Michelle Dockery, Henry Golding, Eddie Marsan, Jeremy Strong, Colin Farrell & Hugh Grant. STX Films is known for producing films like this as their track record include “Hustlers”, “Molly’s Game” & “Mile 22” along with others like “The Gift”, “The Edge of Seventeen”, “Secret In Their Eyes”, “Adrift” & “The Foreigner”.

A newspaper editor, Dave, (Marsan) is publicly humiliated at Royal party by Mickey Pearson (McConaughey), he hires a private investigator, Fletcher (Grant) to expose him for the drug kingpin he’s been accused of being. Pearson is a southern gentleman from the United States who accepts a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University and its there he starts his marijuana ring and becomes on the wealthiest men in the U.K. After turning his small in to a billion dollar operation, he plans to sell it to an American business man, Matt Berger (Strong). Fletcher’s investigation leads him to Pearson’s crew which include his right hand man, Ray (Hannum), his Royal wife, Rosalind (Dockery) and many people under his protection that serve as fronts for business. With this kind of business comes opportunity & competition as a Chinese gangster, Dry Eye, (Golding) moves in on Pearson’s business. Even a small group of boxing trainees try a bold robbery unbeknown to their coach, (Farrell) who is trying to keep them from a life of crime. This investigation leads to a blackmailing scheme, assassinations, power moves & political statements but at the end of the day, all this because a Southern gentleman is trying to sell off his business & retire just to go home and be with his wife.

The old story of an outsider coming and disrupting business is an old western storyline that has been correctly in movies like “American Gangster”. Guy Ritchie nails it here, this movie shows his returns back to forum in his own element. After the a disappointing outing with Disney’s 2019 live action version of “Aladdin”, Ritchie is once again back to his roots and firing on all cylinders. The casting is top notch and really great, giving fantastic performances. Ever since he won an Oscar for “Dallas Buyers Club”, Matthew McConaughey has really elevated his acting cause here he definitely brings his A-game. Charlie Hannum was in Ritchie’s movie “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”, and gives one of the performances I’ve seen from him. But the standout in this movie Hugh Grant. He’s the standout with change in his accent & appearance and doesn’t disappoint.

Overall, this was a great movie that everything from great storytelling, directing and acting and everything in between. Guy Ritchie took an old storyline and told it with an modern take while still maintain his own style in his writing and directing. If you read my review on “Underwater”, you know about the “movie dump” in January, and yet here we are again with a great “diamond in the rough” when it comes to January movie releases.