About the film (courtesy of STX Entertainment):
The Gentlemen follows American expat Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) who built a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. When word gets out that he’s looking to cash out of the business forever it triggers plots, schemes, bribery and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain out from under him.

Guy Ritchie burst unannounced onto the scene with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1999) as his debut work. The comedy crime drama endeared itself to critics and fans alike. Eagerly awaiting his next feature, Ritchie once again pleased audiences with Snatch (2001) which featured a bevy of brilliant performances and an equally intoxicating story. At that point in his early career, expectations were soaring before being gut-punched with quite a few reminders of just how fickle of a friend Hollywood can sometimes be. After falling into that all too familiar remake/reboot trap, Ritchie is hoping to regain that form of old with The Gentlemen.

Going back to basics and essentially what made him such a big draw, Guy Ritchie returns to an original story and we’re better off for it. Starting with a great cast, The Gentlemen slowly evolves into a living, breathing embodiment of what Ritchie has had his most success with. Leading the fray are Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Jeremy Strong, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant. Interestingly enough, it’s Hugh Grant whom I found to be the most interesting of the bunch. Don’t get me wrong, most of the cast excelled in their roles but Grant gives you just that little bit extra that placed his performance over the top of everyone else. And that’s really saying a lot considering just how colorful many of these players were.

The story starts off with a bang and then slows to more moderate pace, thus allowing time for this colorful portrait to be sketched. After covering the broad strokes, Ritchie begins filling in some of the areas, allowing for a slow and steady reveal of a larger picture coming into focus. Even though The Gentlemen eases off the throttle quite a bit in the middle portions, it more than makes up with great acting, witty banter and an engrossing story.

Guy Ritchie is at his best when his telling an original story of his own creation. The Gentlemen is exactly that and is the reason that it’s very much worth seeing during these cold and gloomy winter days. Watching this zany group of characters interact is enough to brighten just about anyone’s day. This one is definitely worth checking out in theaters.