Michael “Mickey” Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) is an American-born Rhodes scholar who was studying for a degree in horticulture when he discovered the lucrative business of dealing drugs. He worked his way up the ladder, doing dirty work when needed, and now runs a massive marijuana empire in London, growing and selling over 50 tons of weed every year. However, Mickey is ready to cash in his chips and sell his business, and has a prospective buyer, Jewish billionaire cowboy Matthew Berger (Jeremy Strong). However, Berger is a bit sketchy, and Mickey’s wife Rosalind (Michelle Dockery)—the “Cockney Cleopatra to Mickey’s Cowboy Caesar”—doesn’t trust him, and probably rightly so. Meanwhile, another potential buyer is in town—the suave and debonair Dry Eye (Henry Golding)—who has gone rogue in hopes of proving himself as the future head of Lord George’s (Tom Wu) more illicit drug operation. Soon Mickey finds himself, his wife, and his business the target of someone who wants to force him into an even earlier, more permanent retirement.

While all of this is going on, yet another party is out to get a cut of Mickey’s money. After being publicly embarrassed by Mickey, Daily Print editor Big Dave (Eddie Marsan) wants to get even. He has hired private investigator Fletcher (Hugh Grant) to dig up some dirt and write an expose on Mickey. However, after tailing Mickey and his crew and gathering evidence, Fletcher comes up with an idea to make even more money, by blackmailing Mickey. Fletcher also claims to know who his trying to hurt Mickey and his business. So Fletcher goes to see Mickey’s second-in-command, Raymond (Charlie Hunnam), and starts laying out everything he knows, offering to hand over all of his evidence (plus the screenplay he wrote about it) in exchange for an absurdly large sum of money. He also ensures Ray that he has contingency plans in place should they simply try to make him disappear. But Fletcher may be severely underestimating his mark, because, as Mickey says, “If you wish to be the king of the jungle, it’s not enough to act like a king. You must be the king. And there can be no doubt. Because doubt causes chaos and one’s own demise.”

The Gentlemen is the latest action/comedy from writer director Guy Ritchie (RocknRolla, Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels). And if you’re already a fan of his work, this is more of the same. The movie is filled with bizarre, eccentric, and over-the-top characters, some with wacky accents, or just with an odd manner of speaking. The dialogue is witty, fast-paced and humorous, filled with lots of slang and expletives (these characters really seem to love that C word!). It is also an action-packed gangster film. Characters can go from cracking jokes one minute to cracking heads the next. There are some action packed sequences, and lots of unexpected twists and turns. Like with many of Ritchie’s movies, these seeming disparate characters and storylines ultimately come together in a clever way by the end of the film.

The film has an amazing, all-star cast, led by the confident Matthew McConaughey, whose Mickey always seems to be a couple steps ahead of every situation, even if it doesn’t seem that way at first. Michelle Dockery is also a lot of fun with her Cockney accent, and she has great chemistry with McConaughey. I would love to see another film just about her character. Hugh Grant’s Fletcher provides the hilarious narration and framing device for the film. When he’s not shamelessly flirting with Ray, he proves to be a somewhat unreliable narrator. Fletcher is a film buff, working on his screenplay, so he often takes a few liberties when recounting the events, embellishing and adding a little ridiculousness and excitement to the details. Charlie Hunnam not only plays the perfect straight man (both literally and figuratively) to Hugh Grant’s Fletcher, but we also get to see why he’s Mickey’s number two as he takes care of business. And finally, Colin Farrell is a pure delight in this film, stealing every scene he’s in. Coach is a genuinely nice and caring guy with a funny way of speaking, such as the way he pronounces his haych’s. He runs a local boxing club, trying to teach young men how to fight and not become hooligans. But when his men get talked into raiding one of Mickey’s farms, he gets sucked into this seedy world, trying to make things right and teach his boys a lesson, without compromising his values.

Universal’s Blu-ray release has a very solid video and audio presentation. The Atmos audio track provides both clear dialogue as well as a nicely immersive ambiance throughout the film. The video is clean and detailed, capturing the London locales beautifully. The release includes both Blu-ray and DVD discs packed in standard HD keepcase with a slipcover, and contains an insert with a code to redeem for an Apple TV-only digital copy of the film—STX does not currently participate in Movies Anywhere, so this won’t port to any other services, but at least the Apple TV app is now readily available on many streaming devices and since this code redeems in 4K, you get a free picture upgrade via streaming. Unfortunately the release contains a disappointingly small selection of bonus material, comprised of a photo gallery, 2 film clip montages, and a 97-second behind-the-scenes featurette.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:53:40)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service)
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

DVD:

• 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service)
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Digital (code may not be valid after 4/21/2025):

• 4K digital copy redeemable via Apple TV, not Movies Anywhere compatible

Extras:

Both the Blu-ray and the DVD discs contain the same bonus material. There is a convenient Play All option to watch all of the featurettes back-to-back.

• Best Gentlemanly Quips (3:09)
  Montage of clips of funny (and often expletive-laden) lines from the film.
• Glossary of Cannabis (:46)
  Montage of clips of the numerous nicknames for Marijuana used in the film.
• Behind the Scenes of The Gentlemen (1:37)
  Short montage of film clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with the cast describing what it’s like working with director Guy Richie. Cast members interviewed include Charlie Hunnam (“Ray”), Henry Golding (“Dry Eye”), Matthew McConaughey (“Mickey”), Hugh Grant (“Fletcher”), Colin Farrell (“Coach”), Michelle Dockery (“Rosalind”), and Jeremy Strong (“Matthew”).
• Photo Gallery (5:10)
  Slideshow of 30 production photos that auto-advances every 10 seconds (or can be manually advanced via the remote).

Final Thoughts:

The Gentlemen is an entertaining, action-packed gangster comedy that is sure to please Guy Ritchie fans. However, the excellent cast and fun twisty story should also appeal to a larger audience. Universal’s Blu-ray looks and sounds great (and even includes a 4K digital copy). Unfortunately, the release is severely lacking in bonus material. That said, the Blu-ray still comes recommended based on the quality of the film itself.