THE GENTLEMEN (2024) series review

Guy Ritchie has been in the film industry for years now and much of his career sets itself in the British gangster world. After a few duds, as he stretched to other genres, he returned to his routes with The Gentlemen, the most exhilarating cinema experience of 2020 (which isn’t saying much).

Now Ritchie expands that world through his debut in television, a Netflix 8-parter that packs an arsenal of fun actors that all work together to produce the filmmaker’s electric sense of humour.

In its premise, ex-forces Eddie (Theo James) returns to find himself inheriting his deceased father’s estate and secret business of drug farming. Through a series of unfortunate events, Eddie finds himself immersed in the criminal underworld, guided by Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario), whilst having to deal with family trouble and violent rival gangs.

Critics generally agree that the series offers reliable entertainment value. The Wall Street Journal's John Anderson said: “No surprise, this crime dramedy showcases the Ritchie style, which is all about style: leaping jump cuts, slo-mo mayhem, layered imagery and dialogue.” The Evening Standard's Vicky Jessop concurs, awarding the series four stars. Jessop notes: "This all sounds weary like going over old ground but surprisingly I found this hard to hate. It's just too fun: the fast cars, the increasingly unhinged baddies and how everything keeps going wrong in ever more spectacular ways."

I am in agreement. With the same sense of manic, mayhem and marihuana, Ritchie seems superficially suited to TV directing.

Whilst the film counterpart hosted a cast of A-Listers, including Matthew McConaughey and Colin Ferral, whereas this opts for rising stars and television regulars. James is a serviceable Ritchie’s version of Michael Corleone, the prodigal son kept out of the family affairs who proves surprisingly efficient in dealing with this new world.

His back-and-forth with Scodelario is a highlight. The two made their names in Young Adult dystopia movies ( Divergent and The Maze Runner ) but show more promise through these juicier characters. Scodelario particularly impresses, supervising Eddie through the gangster world like an anti-Jiminy Cricket. She expressed in an interview: "I very rarely get to portray women that are already at the top of the game when you meet them, it's always a young woman finding her way in life.”

She adds that "what I loved about [Susie] is she's a boss, she's good at her job, she can run things, she knows exactly what she's doing."

Speaking of parallels to The Godfather, Eddie finds himself bothered by his older, feckless brother Freddy (Daniel Ings). Ings’ career is mostly television-bound, but I would greatly recommend checking out his work and he has an aura that blends chaotic energy with tragedy. Giancarlo Esposito is no stranger to crime drama and we Brits are very happy to welcome him after captivating us with performances in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. And Vinnie Jones, a usual Ritchie suspect, always has the one-liners. Collectively, they are a sturdy ensemble, however, no performance matches Hugh Grant’s against-type portrayal from the film.

Ritchie also has to be commended for embracing the different pace of the television format. Whereas the film was two hours of power-driven pleasure, this takes its time far more, given the eight-episode length. This worked quite well for much of the viewing.

The first episode is a surprisingly slow step for viewers to get to know the characters and the world they populate. Nevertheless, you can tell Ritchie has a guitar string wired up, waiting to break.

Once it does, in the last five minutes, you find yourself induced and the mid-section retains the pace. The finale, however, lost an aspect of that energy for me. I will avoid spoilers, but it didn’t quite have the punching power it was hoping for, which may discourage the excellence of the episodes prior.

What the attraction will come down to is if you appreciate vaudeville style, hammy accents and cartoon violence. Ritchie shows off his Brechtian tendencies, such as big writing appearing on the screen to jot down a plan that the characters are making. If Ritchie’s film didn’t grab you, the series probably won’t either.

But if you are a fan, like me, lock your smoking barrels and endorse The Gentlemen in all eight chapters on Netflix now.