For his relative worth, Guy Ritchie had a poisonous effect onUK (and Irish) cinema. Here we are 12 years since Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels surprised the world by not being total shit, and he is still getting ripped off. To be fair, I would imagine the success of In Bruges had more then something to do with this, that for all its attempted intellectual and comic posturing is unfunny, boring and as gratingly familiar as the worst Jennifer Aniston Romantic comedy.
The film follows Cillian Murphy as he scrambles around trying to find the money he owes local loan shark Brendan Gleeson. The usual wacky gangster hijinks ensue. The only reason this film wasn't a forgettable straight to DVD bottom shelfer is the cast it somehow attracted, which I would imagine is down to a bunch of strong, respected Irish actors jumping at the chance to use their actual accents. Aside from Murphy and Gleeson, there's also Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne and Jodie Whittaker. Which is a fairly impressive haul for an Irish gangster movie, and while its fun to watch Murphy and Broadbent to riff of each other, or Gleeson to his wise criminal routine, the turgidness of the material can't be hidden, no matter how good the actors that deliver it. I was bored with this movie 10 years ago, and absence has not made the heart grow fonder.
I guess if a Guy Ritchie film is in your top ten, you may enjoy this movie, but if that is the case you clearly have much bigger problems then your film taste.
Rating: 5/10
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