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Quentin Tarantino had the good sense to step back after the world ate up the cinematic feast that was Pulp Fiction (that is, if you don't count his forgettable appearances as an actor). Or maybe the three and a half years between Fiction's Golden Palm win at Cannes and the release of Jackie Brown just seemed like an eternity. While Brown wasn't embraced as warmly by critics or viewers, the film was a step forward in terms of Tarantino's visual style and, more importantly, it allowed the writer/director to tell a different story with different characters.
Conversely, Guy Ritchie has quickly followed up his hit Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels with a film that shows very little growth. Snatch is simply more of the same, and could even be considered a companion film to Lock, Stock. It offers nothing new, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. You don't hear people complaining that George Lucas is still making films about Jedi Masters and The Force, do you?
Snatch offers two different stories for your viewing pleasure. One features two amateur boxing promoters – Turkish (Jason Statham from Lock, Stock) and Tony (Stephen Graham) – who inadvertently get wrapped up in a fight-fixing scheme with a crooked Don King type aptly named Brick Top (Lock, Stock's Alan Ford). When Turkish and Tony's fighter, Gorgeous George, is put out of commission just days before Brick Top's fixed fight, the two protagonists have to lure a greasy, unintelligible, bare-knuckled Gypsy legend (deftly played by Brad Pitt, Fight Club) to stand in for their injured man.
In the meantime, an 84-karat diamond has been stolen from Antwerp by a gambling addict named Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro, Traffic). As the giant stone makes its way to London, groups of various thugs wait to take it off Franky's hands (or take off Franky's hand, since the diamond is in a suitcase handcuffed to his wrist). There's the seemingly indestructible Russian gangster Boris The Blade (Rade Sherbedgia, Space Cowboys), the American crook Avi (Dennis Farina, Reindeer Games) and a plethora of other zany characters that pass the rock around like a hot potato.
The two stories converge at various times throughout the film, and all of it is completely unbelievable, but entertaining nonetheless. Ritchie ups the formula he used in Lock, Stock by making Snatch's story a bit more complicated, using more characters with wackier names played by bigger acting talent. Unfortunately, it's not nearly as funny or well-structured as his previous film. Instead, Snatch is like a typical American blockbuster, where the plot takes a backseat to a collection of cartoonish supporting characters and over-the-top action sequences. Some of the unnecessary violence was reminiscent of the mean-spirited dud Payback, but the boxing scenes were done very well.
On the plus side, Ritchie's gritty, stylish direction is just as slick here as it was in Lock, Stock. Whether you're talking about the impressive title cards that introduce each character at the beginning of the film, or the Run Lola Run-ish montage used to show Franky's gambling addiction, or the accelerated/decelerated/repeated clips of key events, Ritchie is clearly on top of his game. The film is full of clever editing (some of it is very much like Requiem For a Dream), dazzling camera work and great music (plus a Madonna song, to boot).
1:44 – for strong violence, adult language and some nudity
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