Charlie Hunnam had his big breakthrough as Jax Teller in the hit series “Sons Of Anarchy”. In the meantime, however, the Briton is also a sought-after star in the cinema. He proves why, among other things, in Guy Ritchie’s cult gangster grotesque “The Gentlemen”.
“Sons Of Anarchy” is one of the most popular TV series of the recent past (at least according to the IMDb top 250) and also spawned a spin-off with “Mayans M.C.”, which will soon enter its fifth and then final season. Soon ten years after the end of the original series, lead actor Charlie Hunnam has long since made a name for himself in the cinema – even if this has been a little more bumpy than he perhaps deserved.
Because Hunnam has been part of numerous films such as “King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword”, “Papillon”, “The Sunken City Of Z” and “Crimson Peak”, all of which the author of this article has taken very much to heart – and some of which did not even recoup their production costs. “The Gentlemen” is already the exception there.
The super-stylish, entertaining, blackly humorous and occasionally brutal gangster grotesque is the second collaboration between Hunnam and cult director Guy Ritchie (“Snatch – Pigs and Diamonds”) and grossed five times its budget. And since the film is also damn entertaining, it’s no wonder that after the theatrical release, various streaming providers vied for the licence. But licences usually expire at some point.
After the film was included in Amazon Prime Video’s subscription for some time, the competition with the red “N” followed a few months ago. But if you still have it on your watch list, you should hurry. Because “The Gentlemen” is only available on Netflix until 23 February 2023 (as is “La Vie En Rose”, by the way). Alternatively, you can still watch it on DVD/Blu-ray or Video-on-Demand later on.
However, whether streaming, on disc or perhaps on regular TV: fans of ensemble films, British humour and underworld sagas won’t go wrong here. The FILMSTARTS review gave the “genuine Guy Ritchie original” a strong 4 out of 5 possible stars. Charlie Hunnam’s part is one of the absolute highlights and hard to beat in terms of coolness. Whether he’s taking on a gaggle of would-be gangsters or exchanging blows with Hugh Grant, who is courting him – it doesn’t get much more casual than this!
THIS IS WHAT “THE GENTLEMEN” IS ALL ABOUT
Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) has built up a real empire as a drug lord in London, but now he wants to part with it in order to live a civilised and, above all, legal life in the upper class with his better half Rosalind (Michelle Dockery). But to do so, he first has to get rid of what he has painstakingly built up over the years. And the interested parties who would like to follow in his footsteps are already lining up.
In addition to the outrageously wealthy Matthew Berger (Jeremy Strong), who demands certain securities for his money, Mickey’s right-hand man Ray (Hunnam) also has to deal with the triad boss Lord George (Tom Wu), the crazy Dry Eye (Henry Golding) and the greedy investigator Fletcher (Hugh Grant). And they will use any means to secure a piece of the multi-million dollar pie…
