Catch 'Snatch' for a funny, fast ride

By Joko E.H. Anwar

Snatch ***1/2 (Out of ****); Crime/Comedy, 102 minutes; Starring: Jason Statham, Stephen Graham, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Vinnie Jones, Alan Ford, Brad Pitt; Written and directed by: Guy Ritchie; A Ska Films/Columbia Pictures Corporation presentation; Contains strong violence and profanity.

JAKARTA (JP): Enter the underbelly of the London crime world and meet some small-time fences, a boxing gypsy and a gangster who cuts up his enemies and feed them to pigs.

Remember their names: Boris the Blade, Bullet Tooth Tony and Brick Top (to name a few), and understand that none of the characters got their names without a nasty history. Understand their slang and values and make sure that you do not step on their toes without being able to give them a good excuse.

Enter the world of film director Guy Ritchie, where all the components blend with cheeky humor, a snappy plot and great cinematic style. They make a fantastic ride.

Two years ago, when an independently released film titled Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels started to hit cinemas around the globe, moviegoers tried to find out who was that guy who made the energetic, funny, smart caper.

Before they knew it, the director ended up marrying the biggest pop icon in the world, Madonna.

When the word about Ritchie's follow-up to Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels broke out, film buffs and critics were in eager anticipation.

Well, it turns out that Snatch is just as good as its predecessor, if not better, and certainly leaves the jaws hanging of those who would be glad to see the director fall on his merry behind.

With Snatch, Ritchie confirms that he has a promising career in directing ahead of him.

The story opens with a quiet introduction by its narrator called Turkish (Statham), named after the airline his parents met on, who is also an unlicensed boxing promoter.

He babbles on about a diamond but he has no idea of the subject. With this opening, we are introduced to a jewel thief named Franky Four Fingers (Del Toro) who, along with three of his associates, plans a snatch at a diamond store in Antwerp.

Dressed up as Hasidims, they pass security and storm the main office.

Here, the film takes off. Accompanied by blaring music and a dizzying visual style, the scene is the beginning of a thrilling roller-coaster ride.

What the robbers want is an 86-carat diamond. Just like the two antique guns in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, the diamond, which is as big as a baby's fist, then becomes the object of hot pursuit of the film's colorful characters.

Franky Four Fingers takes the diamond to London as a stopover before a criminal bigwig from New York, Cousin Avi (Farina), is supposed to come to take it back to the Big Apple.

Franky, who got his name for screwing up gambling deals and got his finger cut off in one of them, cannot resist the temptation to try his luck at gambling. That is when notorious Russian gun dealer Boris the Blade hires two inept pawnbrokers to rip him off.

Back to our narrator, Turkish, who somehow has to deal with sadistic gangster Brick Top (Ford) who organizes gambling for illegal boxing matches.

Aided by his loyal sidekick Tommy (Graham), Turkish is preparing his fighter, Gorgeous George, for an upcoming match.

Gorgeous George is supposed to take a dive in favor of another boxer backed by Brick Top.

Turkish's problems begin after a trip to a gypsy village when Gorgeous George is hospitalized after being knocked down by a gypsy named Mickey O'Neil (Pitt).

Understanding the consequences if they fail to deliver a fighter at a scheduled bout, Turkish and Tommy persuade Mickey to substitute for Gorgeous George.

However, Mickey wins the fight with only one punch instead of losing the fight as planned.

The rest of the plot is too precious to give away but I can assure this: there will be a lot of twists along the way.

Those who have seen Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels can expect similar coincidences with unexpectedly huge consequences in this film.

This is a raucous, crude, frantic but always entertaining movie which will keep you engrossed throughout.

Ritchie's occasional rewinds of the story to show an event from a different viewpoint are reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino's films. However, while many Tarantino-wannabes out there abuse the style simply as blatant rip-off, Ritchie uses it to fit the need of the story.

He also uses fast cuts to convey important information without the unnecessary time length. It also serves the film's energetic pace.

Like Tarantino, Ritchie also overlaps and cleverly intertwines his plots.

Many of the actors from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels are back, including former football star Vinnie Jones. But it also seems that Ritchie had the opportunity to use some big name Hollywood actors such as Farina and Del Toro after the success of his first film.

As always, Del Toro is somebody to watch (one of his most memorable performances was in The Usual Suspects as a fast- talking thief with an accent). Pitt seems to have a lot of fun playing Mickey the gypsy boxer which is similar to his role in Fight Club. The laughs flow every time he mumbles words which are decipherable only to his fellow travelers.

Ford is ideal as the psycho criminal, making the nastiest and most memorable gangster in recent movie history.

It is so much fun watching these guys interact, even the minor characters, such as the fumbling pawnbrokers trying to make a big score.

Some viewers will probably object to the film's gruesome material, including the prolonged speech of one of the characters on how to feed somebody to pigs.

Ritchie should be thankful that the new wave of cinematic violence started in the early 1990s, long before he began making his movies, so people are unlikely to ponder the gore in his films as anything unusual.

The audience should be forewarned that none of the characters in the film, despite how likable they are, fit the description of "good characters" in regular terms.

If you want to enjoy this film, you will have to take the characters' amorality in stride. Before you know it, you will probably find yourself laughing -- even if you hate yourself afterward for doing so.