The Gentlemen Review

Before I get to the review, I just want to remind you that the submission period for the Ultimate 2010s Blogathon is going on now and is open until February 9th, 2020. If you would like to participate in the blogathon, all the details can be found in this announcement post.

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Synopsis
Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey), an American drug lord in Britain, is looking to sell his business to fellow drug lord Matthew (Jeremy Strong). Dry Eye (Henry Golding) hears about the deal and tries to take the Mickey’s business for himself.

Review
Honestly, going into The Gentlemen, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. Outside of the recent Aladdin remake and the Sherlock Holmes films starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, I wasn’t familiar with much of Guy Richie’s work before going into the theater. After a quick IMDb search, I recognized a few more of his films that I was at least familiar with. Anyway, my point is that all I was really basing my interest to see the film was the trailers, which were quick and snappy. And as it turns out, that is a good representation of The Gentlemen.

Writer and director Guy Richie hits the ground running and never slows down. The first two acts are narrated by Hugh Grant’s Fletcher, a sleazy fellow who is trying to extort money from Ray, played by Charlie Hunnam. Fletcher talks fast which correlates to fast cuts between his conversation with Ray and the tale he’s telling. This quick switching of locations, and Grant’s even quicker tongue, keeps you from getting your bearings. It takes a little while to get used to the style and understand all the moving parts. Fletcher is literally telling the audience the story of the movie; He’s attempting to piece together events he has witnessed and fill in the blanks, often with some flare or embellishments. As the audience, this makes you question the accuracy of his story. It would be interesting to see what elements of the story I can pick out in subsequent viewings.

Everyone in the cast is at the top of their game and clearly having a good time. Matthew McConaughey hams it up and brings a smile to my face in every scene. Most of Hunnam’s role have been pretty average for me but here he is fantastic. He’s cold and calculating and has the perfect poker face, never giving away what he is thinking. Definitely not someone I would want to run into in an alley. Grant is a stand out as well. As I was talking about before, his scenes with Hunnam are absolutely electric. However, my absolute favorite is Colin Farrell as Coach, who stumbles into working for Ray. He doesn’t have much screen time but his scenes are some of the best, which is saying something given every scene in this film engages you in some way. Michelle Dockery, one of the few female cast members, flawlessly stands with the male members of the cast but is underused. Like Farrell, she makes the best of her few scenes, often being the highlight of them.

Richie’s script, co-written with Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies, is a great combination of wit and action. There’s a little bit of mystery, mixed with explosions, with some humor sprinkled on top. It’s meta, it’s cheeky, and it’s even a little offensive. It’s anything but traditional, a real breath of fresh air in today’s Hollywood landscape of franchises.

I thought The Gentlemen was GOOD 🙂 At one point during the film, I thought to myself that it feels like I was watching RocknRolla again, one of the few Guy Richie films I have seen that’s not based on existing franchises or characters. Like RocknRolla, there are a lot of moving parts in this film and it moves at such a quick pace you’ll have a hard time catching your breath. However, The Gentlemen‘s witty and irreverent script, combined with an outstanding cast – who are clearly enjoying themselves and delivering some of their best work – create a film that is fierce and energetic in all the best ways.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Guy Ritchie – Director / Screenplay / Story
Ivan Atkinson – Story
Marn Davies – Story
Christopher Benstead – Composer

Matthew McConaughey – Mickey Pearson
Charlie Hunnam – Ray
Michelle Dockery – Rosalind Pearson
Jeremy Strong – Matthew
Henry Golding – Dry Eye
Hugh Grant – Fletcher
Colin Farrell – Coach
Eddie Marsan – Big Dave
Tom Wu – Lord George
Chidi Ajufo – Bunny
Simon Barker – Frazier
Lyne Renee – Jackie
Bugzy Malone – Ernie
Franz Drameh – Benny
Christopher Evangelou – Primetime
James Warren – Jim
Sean Sagar – Mal

Aladdin (2019) Review

Synopsis
With the help of the magical Genie of the lamp (Will Smith), Aladdin (Mena Massoud) becomes a prince to impress Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott). Meanwhile, the royal vizier Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) is also trying to get his hand’s on the magic lamp to use Genie’s magic for his own nefarious purposes.

Review
I’ve been feeling conflicted about these live-action remakes Disney has been releasing these last few years and plan to release in the foreseeable future. On one hand, I enjoy seeing these wonderful animated classics realized and interpreted into live-action versions of themselves. On the other, most of them are so beloved that it will be hard to top the originals for most audiences. For me, I grew up on the 1992 Aladdin, and is so ingrained in my history as a cinefile that I highly doubted this remake would do anything to surpass it. However, not one to dismiss a film before I watch it, I went into the theater with an open mind and ended up leaving pleased.

One thing that Disney has been nailing (mostly anyway) about these remakes are the leads. Firstly, Naomi Scott is absolutely stunning as Princess Jasmine. She updates the character to be more than just a damsel looking to escape the confines of the palace. Scott’s Jasmine is confident and determined, characteristics seen in her animated counterpart but Scott takes that foundation and elevates Jasmine to whole new heights. Her song, “Speechless,” perfectly captures Jasmine’s spirit and is nailed by Scott. “Speechless” is bound to become a classic Disney song belted at the top of their lungs by many.

The titular character is played by Mena Massoud. While he doesn’t capture the same spirit of his character the same way Scott captured the character of hers, Massoud plays the part well; he captures the charm of Aladdin well enough. He also has good chemistry with his co-stars, especially Scott and Will Smith. I’d say his biggest weakness is he doesn’t have the same singing chops as Scott or Smith. Songs like “One Jump Ahead” or his parts in “A Whole New World” lack the same energy of Brad Kane, Aladdin’s singing voice actor in the animated version.

Leading up to this film’s release, there had been a lot of talk as Will Smith as Genie. Robin Williams famously voiced Genie in the animated version and brought his unique energy and comedy to the character. Smith smartly didn’t try to emulate Williams. Instead, he played Genie in a very Will Smith way, creating a different kind of Genie that worked within the context of the film. Over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that Smith doesn’t become the characters, the characters become Smith. Smith’s Genie is still larger-than-life and zany but doesn’t have the pizzazz of Williams’ Genie. Instead, Smith’s Genie is infused with Smith’s hip-hop and brand of comedy you’ve come to know and love over the years. While it garnered some criticism when he was announced to be playing the character, Smith’s Genie, like Williams’ before him, is one of the most entertaining and exciting aspects of this film.

I don’t bring up a film’s production design much in my reviews but dammit was this film gorgeous. The streets of Agrabah were filled with all sorts of vivid colors. Most of the time here is spent following Aladdin as he travels and runs through it. Another viewing just to pick out more details in the streets and bazaars would be worth it. Then the palace is even more extravagant. The architecture and set design is unlike any other. Last but not least are the costumes. Like the rest of Agrabah, they are bright and lavish. Jasmine’s outfits in particular are dazzling and truly fitting of a princess.

As for the film’s villain, Jafar left me wanting. Marwan Kenzari wasn’t bad in the role, he just wasn’t the right fit for it. He doesn’t have the menace the animated Jafar is known for. Like Jasmine, Jafar’s backstory and character was expanded on but unlike Jasmine, his changes don’t add much to the character, only seeming have been added to make a scene in the latter part of the film work better. Kenzari’s Jafar simply lacked the iconography that made the animated Jafar such a great villain.

Like the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast, and as this year’s The Lion King live-action remake appears to, Aladdin follows the animated source material pretty closely. Jasmine and Jafar are given more backstory and Genie gets his own love interest in Jasmine’s handmaiden Dalia, played by the humorous Nasim Pedrad, but if you’ve seen the Disney Renaissance version, then you’ll know exactly every story beat and exactly how the story plays out.

I’ve noticed a trend in these Disney live-action remakes: remakes of older films, such as Dumbo or The Jungle Book, don’t stick so closely to the story of the animated versions they are remaking. But for remakes of more recent films, such as Beauty and the Beast and this, they stay more faithful the the characters and story. I’ve said that for a remake to justify its existence, it needs to provide something new, either with the characters, story, or both. For example, Dumbo, tried to tell a similar but fairly different story as the 1941 Dumbo, or Maleficent told the story of Sleeping Beauty from Maleficent’s perspective. As my feelings on these vary, at least they did enough to warrant their presence. Aladdin, while enjoyable, doesn’t do enough to properly answer the question “why?”

I thought Aladdin was GOOD 🙂 I had mixed feelings about one of my favorite Disney animated movies being remade but I went in hoping for the best nonetheless. Even though it doesn’t do enough to distinguish itself from the 1992 animated classic, this film still manages to be entertaining. And really, for a remake of a film that is so dear to me, that’s the least I could have hoped for.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Guy Ritchie – Director / Screenplay
John August – Screenplay
Alan Menken – Composer
Benj Pasek – Lyricist
Justin Paul – Lyricist

Mena Massoud – Aladdin
Naomi Scott – Jasmine
Will Smith – Genie
Marwan Kenzari – Jafar
Navid Negahban – Sultan
Nasim Pedrad – Dalia
Numan Acar – Hakim
Alan Tudyk – Iago (voice)
Frank Welker – Cave of Wonders (voice)