Snatch

"Snatch"

Guy Ritchie, 2000

Guy Ritchie's film "Snatch" has a plot that is essentially identical to that of his earlier film "Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels" - in both films, we witness many cool, foul-mouthed criminals fight for a prize. The prize, of course, isn't the primary focus; it merely serves as an excuse for us to witness these characters as they, in turn, mock and murder one other. Jason Statham, who is an operative for a ruthless crime lord, hires Brad Pitt - er, a wild-haired gypsy - to fight in rigged boxing matches. Meanwhile, a Jewish crime lord in New York is expecting the shipment of a huge diamond from his henchman, Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro). But an ex-KGB Russian mobster in London intercepts Four Fingers with the help of a trio of hapless robbers.

There are a lot of characters to juggle, so it comes as no surprise that "Snatch" sometimes verges on the incomprehensible. To make up for all the gunplay and quips, Ritchie unwisely includes a "serious" moment, in which mobsters burn Pitt's mother's trailer to the ground - then this dramatic turn is strangely and abrpubtly dropped. But whatever. "Snatch" is here solely for its audience's - and its filmmakers' - amusement. It is a "cool," high-energy, and ultimately self-indulgent film that, for better or for worse, constantly strives to entertain.

First Viewed: 9/6/08, on DVD - IMDb