The Gentlemen (2019)    STX/Action-Comedy    RT: 113 minutes    Rated R (violence, language throughout, sexual references, drug content)    Director: Guy Ritchie    Screenplay: Guy Ritchie    Music: Christopher Benstead    Cinematography: Alan Stewart    Release date: January 24, 2020 (US)    Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant, Eddie Marsan, Tom Wu, Bugzy Malone, Lyne Renee, Chidi Ajufo, Jason Wong, Simon Barker, Samuel West, Geraldine Somerville, Eliot Sumner, Franz Drameh, Christopher Evangelou.    Box Office: $36.5M (US)/$115.2M (World)

Rating: ***

 I’d like to start by welcoming writer-director Guy Ritchie back to where he started. The British gangster genre has been kind to him with early top-notch entries like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Revolver. He was less successful in his attempts at mainstream movies with big budget clunkers like King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and last summer’s live-action Aladdin remake. We won’t talk about 2002’s Swept Away remake starring then-wife Madonna. He’s back in the zone with The Gentlemen, a shaggy dog tale of a crime caper about an American drug lord in London.

 Ritchie starts off on just the right note with his introduction of sleazy PI Fletcher (Grant, A Very English Scandal) as the film’s unreliable narrator. He frames the events of The Gentlemen as sort of screenplay pitch to Raymond (Hunnam, The Lost City of Z), the right-hand man to cannabis kingpin Mickey Pearson (McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club), a former Oxford student who found his fortune dealing weed. He has quite the empire with secret underground growing labs on large dilapidated estates that faintly echo the days of Downton Abbey.

 ANYWAY, Mickey’s ready to retire to a life of leisure with his strong-willed, regal-like wife Rosalind (Dockery aka Lady Mary from Downton Abbey). He plans to sell his business to American billionaire Matthew Berger (Strong, The Judge) when Chinese gangster Dry Eye (Golding, Crazy Rich Asians) comes calling with a counteroffer to buy him out. Mickey turns him down flat and that’s when the trouble really begins.

 I’m not going to tell you any more of the plot. It has a few nifty twists that I wouldn’t dream of spoiling. Instead, I’ll discuss things I already brought up like its bevy of colorful criminal characters. McConaughey’s first scene has him delivering an internal monologue that briefly brings to mind his commercials for Lincoln. You can see echoes of his trademark laid-back demeanor as his character wheels, deals and doles out violence to a deserving few. Grant has really evolved as an actor these past few years. You almost can’t recognize him anymore. He’s moved past the affable, self-depreciating romantic heroes he once played in movies like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, About a Boy and Love Actually. In The Gentlemen, he flexes acting muscles we didn’t even know he had. He creates a character that’s wholly unlikable yet still capable of keeping listeners rapt with his riveting tale. Whether it’s true or not is anybody’s guess.

 The real wild card in The Gentlemen is Colin Farrell (In Bruges) as Coach, a boxing trainer somehow mixed up in all the meshugas with the young men he claims he’s teaching to be “good lads”. He repeatedly denies being a gangster yet consistently behaves like one. I’d say it’s the actor’s best performance since In Bruges.

 There’s a great deal of fun to be had with The Gentlemen. It’s violent, but it has a cheeky, playful spirit that carries it along nicely. The one glitch is a near-rape scene that feels noticeably out of place. Honestly, there’s no need for it. In addition, I’m sure some will object to the movie’s racial and gay stereotypes. I argue that it’s crucial to the story. Remember it’s being told from Fletcher’s point of view; I guarantee you this guy does NOT subscribe to political correctness.

 If you like Ritchie’s early work as I do, chances are you’ll enjoy The Gentlemen as well. It’s a nice return to form for the filmmaker. It’s a well-made, nicely-structured piece that serves as a cool alternative to the usual crappy January fare.