Guy Ritchie's 108-Minute Crime Thriller Is Prime Video's Best Streaming Cult Classic

Sherlock Holmes and Aladdin have been huge franchises for Guy Ritchie in the past few years, but lest anyone forget, his true contribution to cinema was in the 2000 crime thriller, Snatch. Though not the first of its kind, Guy Ritchie’s follow-up to Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels would become his calling card. With a higher budget, the filmmaker added Hollywood greats like Brad Pitt and Benicio del Toro to the cast, while fan favorites Jason Statham and Vinnie Jones carried on the crime tradition.

Ritchie implements his classic style in a fast-paced crime story about a search for the missing diamond. Despite its obvious similarities to Lock, Stock, it is the better of the two movies, with a talented ensemble cast and unmissable dialogue. On Prime Video for only a few more days, Snatch is the cult classic no one should miss out on.

‘Snatch’ Is a Hilarious Comedy of Errors

• Image via Columbia Pictures

• Image via Columbia Pictures

• Image via Sony Pictures

• Image via Columbia Pictures

• Image via Columbia Pictures

• Image via Columbia Pictures

• Image via Columbia Pictures

• Image via Sony Pictures

• Image via Columbia Pictures

• Image via Columbia Pictures

What is even better than a slick heist movie with capable characters? The answer is an entire ensemble of criminals bumbling their way toward a related goal. Snatch is the anti-Ocean’s Eleven, and it is highly aware of it. The story centers around boxing promoter Turkish (Jason Statham), whose only real desire is to not be fed to the pigs by local bookie Brick Top (Alan Ford). This desire is complicated when their prized fighter is hospitalized, and they have to replace him with the bare-knuckle boxing champion, Mickey (Brad Pitt).

Pitt’s portrayal of the character is one of the most infamous considering the backstory of the character. The actor was intent on working with Ritchie but couldn’t master the London accent. A character who was unintelligible was then invented with the running joke that no one could understand Mickey’s accent. The crew of Travelers that Mickey is a part of is one of the elements that separate Snatch from the similarities of Lock, Stock, and it was a last-minute change to accommodate an actor.

This is just the setup while Benicio del Toro’s Franky Four-Fingers arrives in London to get a price for a stolen diamond and another crew plots to steal it. All these plotlines cleverly converge in a movie that never slows down. Snatch is Guy Ritchie at his best, combining all these elements in a stylistic achievement.

The joy of watching the movie is the ineptitude of the characters. Turkish bumbles his own promotion by trusting his partner Tommy (Stephen Graham) with their prized fighter. Sol (Lennie James) and Vinnie (Robbie Gee) get a tip about a diamond up for grabs, but every time they attempt to snatch it, they are foiled by their own inadequacies. The plot of the diamond is really just a device to engage the audience at the level of humor that Ritchie is known for. Despite the strength of his later film RocknRolla, which has a stronger plot (and more female characters), Snatch will always be remembered as the shining example of Ritchie’s career.