Guy Ritchie is an English filmmaker and a storyteller of the crime genre, immediately recognizable for his distinctive and outlandish filmmaking style that mixes engaging dialogue and humor with a multitude of complex characters at the forefront, and often draws comparisons to Tarantino. He’s alsocreated and directed TV serieslike Netflix’s The Gentlemen and Paramount+’s MobLand.
From his original crime capers that weave togethermultiple characters and storylinesand adding dashes of humor to his work on famous IPs like Sherlock Holmes and Aladdin, Ritchie has been quite a busy man, and one who never fails to entertain.
2019
6.9
94 percent (Audience Score)
Where To Stream
Disney+
Out of all theDisney live-action moviesGuy Ritchie could’ve chosen, he went with directing Aladdin, a tall order considering how beloved the original is, but the main character being a thief also works to Ritchie’s strengths. And it ultimately paid off, as Aladdin went on to make over $1 billion worldwide and got a better reception than most of the live-action remakes.
Mena Massoud and Smile 2’s Naomi Scott do justice to the roles of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, but it’s Will Smith’s Genie who steals the show, making it hard not to have a good time with this new version of the story. The costumes, set design, and art direction are super colorful and can only be applauded.
9Sherlock Holmes Duology
Main Cast
Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan
2009, 2011
7.6, 7.4
69 percent, 60 percent
HBO Max, VOD
Guy Ritchie gave an original vision to Sherlock Holmes that fully utilized his filmmaking style and put an emphasis on action and a grittier aesthetic. Was itthe best version of Sherlock Holmes? Arguably, the BBC show with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman has it beat, but Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law worked great as the duo of Holmes and Watson.
The 2009 movie tells an original story that begins with Holmes stopping a ritualistic murder from being performed and apprehending the occultist serial killer Lord Henry Blackwood, played by Mark Strong. A Game of Shadows is a direct continuation of the story, with the main enemy now being Professor Moriarty, the boss of Holmes' acquaintance Irene Adler.
2023
7.5
83 percent
Amazon Prime Video
Guy Ritchie’s attempt at a war film wasn’t the most realistic production, especially after the massive realism thatAlex Garland’sand Ray Mendoza’s Warfare was able to achieve. It’s a very Hollywood-y blockbuster war movie that’s not rooted in a true story, and just gives you non-stop action and explosions between US soldiers and Taliban fighters.
Although Jake Gyllenhaal previously played a soldier in Jarhead, it’s his co-star, Dar Salim, in The Covenant who absolutely carries the movie with his performance. The Covenant is about Gyllenhaal’s unit being massacred in a trap by the Taliban, with only he and his Afghan interpreter, Ahmed, now needing to survive.
While not based on any particular real-life events during the war in Afghanistan, Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant draws attention to Afghan interpreters who worked for the US army and how many were still left behind without visas, or tragically killed by the Taliban after the US withdrawal.
6.3
82 percent (Audience Score)
Peacock
Guy Ritchie’s follow-up to Wrath of Man goes the action comedy route with a very fun and meta storyline. Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre is a globe-trotting spy flick and crime tale that centers around Jason Statham’s character, super spy Orson Fortune, who gains access to wealthy arms dealer Greg Simmonds by recruiting an unconventional asset – Simmonds' favorite movie star, Danny Francesco.
Hugh Grant plays the eccentric and obsessed fan Simmonds, often having some of the best moments, Josh Hartnett is Danny Francesco, and they are also joined by Aubrey Plaza. Together, a movie with these four brings the entertainment value to the max. Statham has his funny moments in addition to the action, and it’s Ritchie’s most underrated film.
6Wrath Of Man
Jason Statham, Josh Hartnett, Holt McCallany, Rocci Boy Williams, Jeffrey Donovan
2021
7.1
68 percent
MGM+, Tubi
Wrath of Man is Ritchie’s fusion of a heist movie, a twist-filled revenge thriller, and a one-man army movie in the vein of John Wick, centered around a security company called Fortico responsible for guarding armored trucks. It stars Jason Statham as the mysterious character, H, who infiltrates the armored truck security team, having an ulterior motive that’s unveiled in four acts.
Out of all the Jason Statham action movies the actor is most famous for, Wrath of Man is such an underrated outing, and the use of foreboding music throughout to build tension and drama is masterful, as is the cinematography and highly quotable dialogue. Having Josh Hartnett and Mindhunter’s Holt McCallany in supporting roles is also fantastic.
2008
7.2
60 percent
VOD
If you crave the all-out, no-holds-barred Guy Ritchie, RocknRolla is the director at his best. The cast is iconic and stacked with star power, and each plays their role extremely well. RocknRolla’s camerawork, soundtrack, dialogue, and high-octane action scenes are what you want from Ritchie, and it also has an iconic dance moment between Gerard Butler and Thandiwe Newton.
The story centers around a band of thieves and various players in London’s underworld, as a real estate deal between mobster Lenny Cole and a Russian oligarch, Uri Omovich, attracts all the sharks. Butler’s crew aims to steal the money from the transaction, while Cole’s rockstar son, Johnny Quid, fakes his death and too gets involved.
7.8
75 percent
Netflix
The Gentlemen is another brilliant and unconventional piece from Guy Ritchie that’s one of the most unique crime stories ever made, again filled with many famous names in its cast. The story is narrated by Hugh Grant’s Fletcher, a cunning P.I. who wrote a screenplay about drug lord Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) and his efforts at selling his cannabis empire.
Fletcher has all the details of the players involved in Mickey’s business, and he’s telling it all to Raymond, Mickey’s right-hand enforcer, played by Charlie Hunnam, as a form of blackmail. Then, the Triads enter the frame, and Colin Farrell’s scene-stealing character, Coach, the owner of a boxing gym with a band of YouTubers called ‘The Toddlers,’ also gets involved.
2015
In The Man From U.N.C.L.E. the chemistry between Henry Cavill and Armie Hammeras spieson opposite sides of the Cold War is unmatched, leading to plenty of hilarious and organic moments between them that make the performances and overall story enjoyable.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is based on the 1960s television series and follows American spy Napoleon Solo and a KGB spy named Illya Kuryakin as they’re forced to work together to stop the threat of a nuclear disaster. The action is non-stop, well-choreographed, and thrilling. It’s also the closest you’ll get to seeing Cavill as James Bond.
1998
8.1
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a ’90s crime debut from Guy Ritchie that became one of the most praiseworthy films of his career. It was also the debut of Jason Statham, who would go on to have a fruitful action film career and continue to collaborate with Ritchie in future projects, as well as Vinnie Jones.
The film is centered around a rigged poker game between four thieves – Eddy, Bacon, Soap, and Tom – and London crime lord ‘Hatchet’ Harry Lonsdale, which leaves them in debt and in a crunch to pay back the mobster or risk losing the pub owned by Eddy’s father. What ensues is a crime comedy like no other.
1Snatch
Brad Pitt, Jason Statham, Stephen Graham, Benicio del Toro, Vinnie Jones
2000
8.2
74 percent
Xumo Play, VOD
Guy Ritchie’s most notable and famous movie remains Snatch. It features a pretty smashing cast, with Brad Pitt’s purposely unintelligible Irish boxer, Mickey O’Neil, being iconic to the whole experience. Ritchie designed the character in that way to hilariously hit back at critics who found the accents in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels to be difficult.
Snatch takes you to the world of fixed boxing matches and jewelry heists, with the plot set around a band of thieves, led by Benicio del Toro’s Franky Four-Fingers, who steal a precious diamond that soon sends all sorts of unsavory characters scrambling for it, which also intersects with the storyline of Jason Statham’s Turkish fixing matches with Pitt’s Mickey O’Neil.
