Guy Ritchie’s film “The Gentlemen” was an extremely pleasant surprise. It captivated us with its humor, action, interesting story and acting. The series spin-off for Netflix is slightly, and in some places completely, different.
The first scenes of the film “The Gentlemen” are absorbing to the maximum. Intriguing characters, mysterious music, British accents and a specific style. It’s impossible to tear yourself away from the screen, especially since from the very beginning we see that someone will get seriously hurt. Guy Ritchie has weaker and better projects, but this time he managed to make a coherent, balanced and extremely entertaining film that you can return to endlessly. As it turns out, the idea behind the world of a secret drug empire in the British Isles was bigger than this one movie.
I won’t hide the fact that I was very eager to return to this universe. From the moment I finished the first screening of “The Gentlemen” in the cinema, I wondered if there was a chance for a sequel. Creating new problems for the surviving characters would not be a difficult task, but it is unclear whether such a success could be repeated. Would the sequel have the same spark that made the original idea so successful? For this reason, I consider moving away from the characters we know and focusing on others as a delicate avoidance, although on the other hand, introducing them to this world and making us feel sympathy was probably an even more difficult task than telling the further fate of everyone’s favorites.
The Gentlemen series on Netflix – review
The story of the TV series “The Gentlemen” begins with the introduction of Eddie Halstead (Theo James), who is on a military mission. There, he hears news about his father’s poor condition, so he returns to his family home. His older brother and younger sister are already there. After the lord’s death, a will is read and the family property and title pass to the younger son, which is quite a precedent (for the first time in the 600-year history of the family). That’s when Eddie learns that more than just the family legacy falls on his shoulders. He also takes over his father’s business, which is run in the basement of the property.
Not everyone is happy with this turn of events. Older brother Freddy’s (Daniel Ings) frustration takes over, and business broker Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario) refuses to acknowledge Eddie’s termination. The prince doesn’t know what he’s getting into when he decides to cut off all contact with the underworld. As you can guess, the harder he tries to break free, the tighter the noose around his neck becomes.
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Is the series better than the movie?
The pace of the series is different from what we saw in the movie. Thanks to eight episodes, the creators were able to easily introduce the viewer to this world, explain a little more than in the full-length film, and although this is an advantage of the series, it is also difficult not to get the impression that the threshold for entering this story is slightly higher. Several dozen minutes pass before anything starts happening, so the most impatient viewers may not make it to this point. Those who stick with the series will be richly rewarded.
“The Gentlemen” as a series on Netflix cannot boast the same class, elegance and style as the film. I had the impression all along that it had not been polished in the same way (especially in terms of music), but on the other hand, a different form allows it to spread its wings in terms of the plot, because this time we also get a quite complicated story, numerous plot twists and a lot of entertainment before screen.
Initially, I didn’t like him at all in his role as Theo James, but as time passed I liked him more and more. He is great in front of the camera as a young prince ready to do anything to achieve his goal, while Daniel Ings as Freddy seems to be born for this type of performance. Some may be slightly disappointed by the untapped potential of Vinnie Jones’ talent, and if there was a season 2, I would definitely want his Geoff to become one of the central characters.
The Gentlemen series – is it worth watching?
Guy Ritchie directed the first two episodes and later passed the baton to other creators. Can you see it? Perhaps an extremely watchful eye will pick up on certain nuances that disappear when the director leaves, but the style and form of the series that he imposed at the beginning of the story are retained throughout the rest of the season. It is still a well-balanced production combining dramatic and comedic themes, thanks to which the range of emotions during the screening is quite wide.
Thanks to this, “The Gentlemen” on Netflix is great to watch and the series should be available to everyone. The eight episodes go by very quickly, in a great atmosphere, although I can’t shake the feeling that the whole thing is one notch below the film in terms of production. If subsequent seasons or series in this world are as good as this one, we have nothing to complain about.
The series “The Gentlemen” starts today on Netflix.