Guy Ritchie's 2-Part Crime Drama Dominating Netflix Is Great, But The Movie Is Even Better

Published Sep 15, 2026, 5:20 PM EDT Anthony is a news reporter and a guide writer who has covered the entertainment industry for five years. He has covered a wide range of genres, including aviation incidents and international crime, and has a keen eye for details that may slip under the radar. When he's not writing, Anthony can be found at Brands Hatch race track or at home watching indie horror movies nobody has heard of. Guy Ritchie is arguably an authority on crime and gangster movies, having directed several genre classics. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was released in 1998 and introduced many audiences to Ritchie's unusual storytelling style. The movie has many moving parts and intersecting stories that clash, with some plot points lacking context until the end. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels features larger-than-life characters and a tense story as a group of friends scrambles to pay a gambling debt to Hatchet Harry (P.H. Moriarty). Ritchie released another adored gangster movie two years later in Snatch. The movie stars Jason Statham and Stephen Graham as Turkish and Tommy. The duo are illegal boxing promoters forced to deal with Brick Top (Alan Ford), a ruthless crime boss with a reputation for feeding those who cross him to the pigs. Like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch tells a complex story with a brilliant, expansive cast. Brad Pitt plays Mickey, an unpredictable bare-knuckle boxer. Rade Šerbedžija is the wonderfully unhinged Boris the Blade, and Vinnie Jones plays a gangster called Bullet-Tooth Tony, who supposedly survived being shot multiple times. Ritchie's gangster movies tell gripping stories, but they are also laugh-out-loud funny at times and full of sharp dialogue, accompanied by fitting soundtracks. His formula has also translated beautifully to a TV show in The Gentlemen, though fans shouldn't overlook the 2019 movie of the same name, which includes many of the elements that make the series a must-watch. Guy Ritchie Has Created A Fantastic Criminal World With The Gentlemen Christopher Raphael/Netflix Ritchie's gangster movies almost feel like condensed series in many ways. In Snatch, for example, Turkish and Tommy are the protagonists. However, they are part of a much larger story, surrounded by characters equally important to the plot. It makes sense then that The Gentlemen series is making quite an impression with streaming audiences. The first season premiered on Netflix in 2024, with season 2 releasing earlier this month. Theo James stars as Eddie Horniman. He's ex-military and unexpectedly inherits the family estate, much to his siblings' frustration. Eddie soon learns of an existing arrangement on the property with a hidden drug operation. He wants rid of it at first, but is the prospect of reliable cash flow really so bad? Naturally, there wouldn't be a great series if everything went smoothly, with Freddy (Daniel Ings), Eddie's older brother, often becoming a liability. The Gentlemen TV show is exceptional because Ritchie uses that extra time and episodic format to flesh out the cast and their motivations. Even minor characters get their chance to shine, and many are as gloriously over-the-top as they are in Ritchie's movies. Why The Gentlemen Movie Is Even Better Than The TV Show The Netflix show is popular for good reason, and fans of the series will find plenty to enjoy in The Gentlemen movie. The story shares a similar theme with the series, though the characters aren't connected. Matthew McConaughey stars as Mickey Pearson, an American expat running a massive drug operation across the UK in complete secrecy. He wants to sell his business, but word quickly gets out to the wrong people, making it much harder to leave his life of crime. The Gentlemen tells a complex, involved story of rival crime gangs and lords and ladies ready to make Mickey's life difficult. Hugh Grant plays Fletcher, a hilariously slimy private investigator, and he loosely narrates as events interlink. Charlie Hunnam plays Ray, Mickey's right-hand man, but the cast is expansive, with a detailed plot and a devoted husband at the movie's core. The film is ideal if you don't have time to commit to a series with a runtime just under two hours. Ritchie's story delivery demands the audience's attention, but The Gentlemen is full of punchy monologues and one-liners. Much like other Guy Ritchie films, the 2019 title practically begs for a rewatch. Many scenes are packed with easy-to-miss details that work entirely differently when you know what's about to happen.