THE BREAKDOWN with SUNSHINE - Guy Ritchie
Sunshine Mayfiled @Mr_Sun_Shine
It’s May! That means summer blockbusters are all about to start dropping soon. One of the first summer action flicks that will be hitting the silver screen is Guy Ritchie’s new project, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. I don’t have high hopes for this new one, mainly because I haven’t really enjoyed anything Ritchie has done since Snatch, but don’t just take my word for it. Let’s take a look at the numbers.
1. Critical/Public Response
When it comes down to it, critics have not been very kind to Guy Ritchie. Critical response falls somewhere on the spectrum between “Yeah, that wasn’t bad” to “Worst movie of all time.” Seeing a 5% on Rotten tomatoes doesn’t seem to happen very often. (Looking at you Swept Away) Luckily, to help balance out the score, the public seems to enjoy the work of Ritchie. With the exception of Swept Away and Revolver, Ritchie’s movies score pretty well when it comes to the views of the people. Folks even enjoyed his Sherlock Holmes movies, which I thought were mediocre at best. What do I know? Those movies were incredibly successful financially, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Overall, Ritchie finishes with a wonderfully underwhelming response score of 57 out of 100. Womp Womp.
2. The Financial Impact
Oh, the critics aren’t fans you say? I doubt Ritchie cares, seeing as he has helped gross close to a billion dollars in profit for himself and the studios he’s been working for. Realistically, the gold mine that was the Sherlock Holmes franchise helps tip the scales in his favor as the rest of Ritchie’s filmography haven’t been nearly as profitable. If you’ll chart this guy’s movies from greatest to least, you will see quite a drop-off between Game of Shadows to Snatch. Overall, $964 Million isn’t anything to shrug your shoulders at. I’m sure his backers don’t mind the extra cash. Final financial tally… $963,718,574
3. The Defining Style
I give credit to Ritchie for sticking to his guns, quite literally. The man loves making some “shoot em ups” and he does it well. His stylized fight sequences have been setting the bar high for those that follow him. He is definitely not the first person to slow down his fight scenes but if you can’t do it first, do it the best. He might not be the best either, but he’s going to try. Specifically in his hand to hand combat sequences. That man loves some bare knuckle boxing. The only issue with Ritchie utilizing this style of filming is that the action genre is flooded with similar imagery.
You will also be able to notice his use of quick pans to cut from shot to shot. If he wants you to see a character, setting, or important item, he is going to get you there without wasting any time. He’ll do this by using fast paced pans from side to center. Check out the intro from RockNRolla as an example. Find it here.
Lastly, Ritchie writes some intriguing characters. The band of misfits that lead you through his 8-lane storylines rarely disappoint. There is always a character worth following and Ritchie normally has them doing a voiceover. To this day, Mickey O’Neil (Snatch) is one of my favorite film characters of all time.
That’s A Wrap
What does this prove? It means that you can pump out mediocre movies and still make a decent amount of money in this industry, but that was never really a secret. At the end of the day, Guy made some money a few years back and studios are still giving him a shot to prove that he can do it again. I enjoyed The Man From U.N.C.L.E but it wasn’t incredible by any stretch of the imagination. Not critically or financially. Ritchie keeps pushing out mediocre movie after mediocre movie and I don’t expect King Arthur to be any different.
Response Score: 57
Financial Impact: $963,718,574
Years Active: 1998-Present (19 Years)
Sunshine’s Ranking
Snatch (2000) 10/10
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) 7/10
RockNRolla (2008) 7/10
The Man From U.N.C.L.E (2015) 7/10
Sherlock Holmes (2009) 6/10
Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (2011) 5/10
Swept Away (2002) - Unseen
Revolver (2005) - Unseen
-SM