Does Anybody Else Miss The Early Guy Ritchie Era Of Movies?

Do you know which Guy Ritchie movie rules? 2024’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which we gave a positive review.

Do you want to know another great recent movie of his? 2023’s Guy Ritchie's The Covenant (his name is literally in the title), which was a compelling action drama set in Afghanistan. That said, even though Guy Ritchie is still making great modern movies, does anybody else miss the early Guy Ritchie films from the late ‘90s/early 2000s? I mean, I can’t be the only one, right?

Because even though 2019’s The Gentlemen - which we also gave a positive review - was a nice return to that form for Ritchie, I kind of find myself going back to his older work time and time again. Here’s why I think that is.

Guy Ritchie Was Like The Second Coming Of Quentin Tarantino, But British

Picture this. The year is 1998, and just the year prior, we got Jackie Brown from Quentin Tarantino. Now, Jackie Brown is not a bad movie at all (in fact, even back then, it felt like a bit of a cult movie). But, after a groundbreaking film like 1994’s Pulp Fiction, 1997’s Jackie Brown kind of felt like a letdown. Not for me, mind you, but for many people who found it slower and less frenetic than Tarantino’s second (and best) movie, Pulp Fiction.

So, for those who were disappointed in Jackie Brown, what should come around the corner but a movie with all of the same energy and verve as Pulp Fiction called Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. In truth, it almost felt like a spiritual successor to Pulp Fiction, but with thick, Cockney accents. The setting of London also had a unique vibe that separated it from Tarantino’s work, giving it a fresh feeling all of its own. Guy Richie truly exploded on the scene with this film, and it’s definitely one of his best movies (It’s actually my favorite of his).

Not to be outdone by, er, himself, he followed it up with 2000’s Snatch, which actually had Brad Pitt as a bare-knuckle boxer sounding almost incomprehensible. Jason Statham, who made his debut in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, was back, and similar to how Tarantino uses some of the same actors repeatedly, Ritchie did the same with actors like Statham and Vinnie Jones.

These two movies just felt like the second coming of Tarantino, and I miss that side of Ritchie. That’s not all that I miss.

Not Only That, But Even Films Not Directed By Ritchie, Like Layer Cake, Felt Like Guy Ritchie Movies

When you become a prominent enough director, other directors start imitating you. So, when somebody does a surreal movie with bizarre characters, like Under the Silver Lake, it’s often called “Lynchian,” which is named after the late auteur, David Lynch. Films that often feel nihilistic or even cold might be called Kubrickian, named after my favorite director, Stanley Kubrick. Films that have gritty settings and morally ambiguous characters might be called Scorsesian, and if a movie has tons of banter and violence, it might be called Tarantino-esque.

For a time, movies like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, or Snatch would be called just that: Tarantino-esque. However, Guy Ritchie was able to carve out such a niche for himself that people started imitating HIM, which is how we got films like Matthew Vaughn’s directorial debut, Layer Cake. And even a movie like 2012’s Killing Them Softly with Brad Pitt, which has serious Guy Ritchie vibes.

I miss this era. I’m talking crime dramas from the mid-00s and early 2010s that weren’t by Guy Ritchie, but you could get a hint of that Guy Ritchie flavor. These were films that didn’t feature characters talking a mile a minute, but still had that aura of Ritchie’s influence. It’s like, for a time, you would find lots of Tarantino imitators, and Richie seemed like one of them at the beginning of his career.

But, in the mid-00s and early 2010s, Guy Ritchie started getting his own imitators, and I guess I just sort of miss that period. It feels so long ago.

I Like A Lot Of Ritchie’s Later Work, But It’s Just Not The Same

I mentioned The Gentlemen earlier, and I like that Ritchie was returning to form when he made it. It felt comforting like a warm blanket. In a lot of ways, it was kind of like Sam Raimi returning to his horror roots with movies like Drag Me to Hell and Send Help. But, much like Raimi, even though I think Ritchie did a phenomenal job of going back to the basics, it still doesn’t feel like it has the same rugged energy as something he would have done when he was younger

WHICH IS NOT HIS FAULT! Guy Ritchie IS older, and if anything, my bringing this up is more a commentary on my own lost youth than it is of Ritchie’s current style. However, I do feel that even though Ritchie is trying to harken back to the style of his earlier work with a film like The Gentlemen, it just doesn’t feel the same.

And, I don’t think anything is going to change that. Guy Ritchie has been an established director for a long time, and he likely views the medium differently now. I mean, Disney brought him in to direct Aladdin (which actually came out the same year as The Gentlemen!), and you don’t go back from that.

It’s like asking Tim Burton to make another Edward Scissorhands, or even asking Tarantino to make another Pulp Fiction. It’s just not going to happen. Nor should it, really. Artists grow and change. However, there are two particular movies that I think did in fact change the entire trajectory of Guy Ritchie’s career…

In Truth, I Think The Sherlock Holmes Movies Were The True Turning Point For The Director

Now, you might think that one of the movies that was a true turning point in Ritchie’s career was his third film, Swept Away, and it just might have been. It was a massive failure, both critically and commercially, and I’m sure it had a massive impact on Ritchie’s mental state. However, the movies that I truly think changed the trajectory of his entire career were 2009’s Sherlock Holmes and its sequel, 2011’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

For one thing, both movies were financially successful, following a string of middling releases like Revolver and RocknRolla. And secondly, they were the first movies in Ritchie’s filmography where he didn’t write the screenplays. This might not seem like a big deal, but I think this kind of altered the movies we would see later from the director.

It’s not that he no longer makes films with passion, as he certainly does. But I feel like his films have a much broader scope now after he got those two big wins under his belt with the Sherlock Holmes movies. Now, if only we could get that third Sherlock Holmes film (without Ritchie) in the future.

That said, even if I do miss the old Guy Ritchie, I’ll still watch anything he does, such as his upcoming action thriller, In the Grey, which I can’t wait to see.

Do you also miss the early Guy Ritchie era of films? I’d love to hear your thoughts.