DirectorGuy Ritchiehas become one of Netflix’s hottest properties thanks to his crime comedy seriesThe Gentlemen, but a few of his movies are available there as well. Renowned as one of modern cinema’s best exponents of the British gangster movie, Ritchie has done most of his work for the big screen, with hissmall-screen adaptation ofThe Gentlemenlast year only his second foray into television. At the same time as playing host to the director’s most recent TV series, Netflix has built up a roster of classicGuy Ritchie moviesto showcase his work.
Ritchie’s feature-length releases currently available to stream on the platform span several genres. But all of them share his characteristic swagger, as well as hard-talking, no-nonsense anti-heroes with cockney London accents and a penchant for punch-ups. A primary inspiration for the crime shows ofPeaky Blinderscreator Steven Knight, as well as his own longtime collaborator Matthew Vaughn, Ritchie’s signature filmmaking style has made him a staple of British film over the past three decades. Thanks to Netflix, we can enjoy much of his output in the same place.
Thisfun and carefree take on King Arthur, Camelot, and the legendary Knights of the Round Tableisn’t particularly faithful to its mythological source material. Nor does it offer up the style and panache of Guy Ritchie’s modern gangster stories. However, it is a fun film that even includes an acting cameo from David Beckham and takes the source material into unexpected directions.
King Arthur: David Beckham’s Bizarre Cameo Explained
King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword featured a surprise cameo from ex-football star David Beckham. Here’s his unusual appearance explained.
If nothing else,King Arthur: Legend of the Swordssucceeds in sending up the entire medieval fantasy subgenre, while poking fun at Ritchie’s own filmmaking formula in the process. With a knowing wink, the movie places the meat-and-potatoes dialogue of his stock gang members into the mouths of knights in shining armor, to hilarious effect. It was perhaps a little harshly judged upon its release because critics were taking the film too seriously.This lightweight, costume-heavy action comedy is far from Ritchie’s best work, but there are worse ways to spend a rainy afternoon.
The sequel to the 2009 murder-mystery megahitSherlock Holmesisn’t quite as dazzlingly original or swashbucklingly adventurous, but Holmes fans should get a kick out of it all the same. Robert Downey Jr.’s characterization of Holmes is still as enthralling as it was the first time around, while Jared Harris makes for a suitably machiavellian antagonist.
Guy Ritchie is helming aYoung Sherlockshow for Amazon.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadowsset up a possible sequel with its ending twist. However, it proved to be the last time we’d see Downey Jr. and Jude Law together as Holmes and Watson, at least to this point. There’s still a chance thatSherlock Holmes 3could happenafter more a decade’s delay to its release date. If the third movie never gets made, this sequel wasn’t a bad way for them to bow out after two immensely entertaining detective movies that scarcely put a foot wrong.
Guy Ritchie demonstrated his knowledge of the spy genre in this suave movie adaptation of the 1960s American TV show about a CIA agent navigating Cold War Europe.Henry Cavill proves himself worthy of being James BondasThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.’s protagonist, Napoleon Solo, who’s playing a double-edged game of cat-and-mouse with his Soviet counterpart played by Armie Hammer.
The movie doesn’t have the dash of humor that Ritchie’s gangster capers boast, but its slick rendering of period details and visual set pieces marks it out as a satisfying homage to noir filmmaking. Excellent supporting performances from Alicia Vikander and Hugh Grant also add to the sense thatThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.is something of a lost gem among spy movies of the 21st century.
Before it came out, the idea of Guy Ritchie taking charge of a newSherlock Holmesadaptationwith Robert Downey Jr. in the titular role seemed like a recipe for disaster. Yet the movie triumphed over expectations, not because Ritchie and Downey Jr. adapted their own strengths to Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous literary detective, but precisely because they took the character and made him their own.
It’s not overstating things to say that Ritchie was ahead of the curve in reimagining the murder mystery genre as the ultimate family adventure story.
Downey Jr.’s Sherlock is everything that Benedict Cumberbatch’s isn’t. He’s brash, physical, devil-may-care, and his brilliance comes to him seemingly on a whim. In short,this Sherlock the archetypal Guy Ritchie protagonist, and he makes this detective story a spectacular crowd-pleaser. It’s not overstating things to say that Ritchie was ahead of the curve in reimagining the murder mystery genre as the ultimate family adventure story, adorned with every cinematic whistle and bell imaginable.
Snatchis the one definitive Guy Ritchie movie currently streaming on Netflix.It’s flashy, mouthy, and unmistakably British, despite starring Brad Pitt as the biggest name of a cast that’s otherwise hard as nails. London’s ganglands have never been quite as entertaining as this film and its forerunner among Ritchie’s movies,Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, make them, with their host of unsavoury characters cracking wise and bungling heists.
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Snatch(2000)
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This movie was only Ritchie’s second as director, but it established him as a specialist of the British crime movie, with a wrly comic edge over most of his American counterparts to boot. Snatch was also the lastGuy Ritchiemovie to star his classic ensemble of British gangster actors, including Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones, Stephen Graham, and Alan Ford. If you’re new to Ritchie’s films and you have to choose one to watch among those currently on Netflix, it should definitely be this one.
