By Jessica Wedemeyer
4:48pm PDT, May 9, 2017
No. 9: "Swept Away"
Guy Ritchie wrote and directed the 2002 box office bomb "Swept Away," a remake of a 1974 Italian film of the same name starring Oscar nominee Giancarlo Giannini. Giancarlo's son, Adriano Giannini, starred opposite Madonna — then married to the director — in the romantic comedy, which has a 5 percent fresh rating with critics on Rotten Tomatoes and earned five Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture, Work Remake or Sequel, Worst Director, Worst Actress and Worst Screen Couple. Associated Press critic Christy Lemire called the film "every bit the cinematic shipwreck you'd imagine it to be." Ouch!
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No. 8: "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword"
Reviews are in — and they're not good! "'King Arthur' seems constantly panicked that the audience's attention span won't last another second, so each moment is a frenzy of sight and sound … and the ultimate effect is more exhausting than exhilarating," griped TheWrap critic Alonso Duralde in his review of the action-fantasy flick, which had a 12 percent fresh rating with critics on Rotten Tomatoes during the week leading up to its release. Bummer!
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No. 7: "Revolver"
Guy Ritchie's 2005 crime-drama "Revolver," in which Jason Statham (with hair!) starred as a professional gambler at odds with a mob boss played by Ray Liotta, failed to impress critics — as well as audiences. In fact, the film performed so poorly in Britain when it debuted in September 2005 that it was reworked before opening in American theaters in late 2007. "It's an irritating, repetitive and pretentious psycho-metaphysical con-job that's ultimately about transcending the ego," wrote Seattle Times critic Mark Rahner in his review of the flick, which draws on Kabbalist themes and has a 17 percent fresh rating with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The most common word associated with the plot of the revenge tale? "Incoherent." Yikes! But, hey, some people are into that kind of thing…
No. 6: "Sherlock Holmes"
Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" was a major hit and is often considered the director's most mainstream movie. In addition to scoring two Oscar nominations (for best original score and best art direction), the mystery was also one of the top-grossing films of 2009 and has a 70 percent fresh rating with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Robert Downey Jr. starred as the titular private detective alongside Jude Law as his partner and friend, Dr. John Watson, and Rachel McAdams as thief Irene Adler, Sherlock's former lover. The movie may not have been perfect, but it sure was fun to watch! At the end of the day, though, it's an origin story, which keeps it from topping this list…
No. 5: "RocknRolla"
Guy Ritchie's "RocknRolla" is criminally underrated. It performed moderately with critics but failed to make a splash at the box office — though it did open at No. 1 in the U.K. (The 2008 crime-drama, which is darker in tone than its director's most popular movies, has a 59 percent fresh rating with critics on Rotten Tomatoes and reportedly made just $25.7 million on an $18 million production budget.) The plot centers around a group of small-time criminals called the Wild Bunch, led by Gerard Butler's One Two, who become entangled in the drama surrounding a stolen painting and a shady business deal with a Russian billionaire. The film features all of Guy's hallmarks, but our favorite thing about it is the relationship between One Two and crewmate Handsome Bob (Tom Hardy), who's been harboring a major crush on his boss and friend. Idris Elba, Thandie Newton, Mark Strong, Tom Wilkinson, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven, Ludacris and Gemma Arterton round out the all-star cast.
No. 4: "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."
Like "RocknRolla," 2015's "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." is criminally underrated. The action-comedy — in which Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer star as Napoleon Solo, a former thief working for the CIA, and his Russian counterpart, KGB operative Illya Kuryakin — bombed at the box office in spite of good reviews. (The film earned a 67 percent fresh rating with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.) It's a shame because, as Vulture critic David Edelstein put it in his review, the film is "breezy and elegant — so breezily elegant it can make you laugh out loud from frame to frame." Plus, you just can't get sweeter eye candy than Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer! Not that THAT has anything to do with why we love this movie…
No. 3: "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"
In our humble opinion, the 2011 followup to 2009's "Sherlock Holmes" perfected upon the premise established by its predecessor and was a rare case of a sequel being better than the original — even if it was more of an explosive action flick than a faithful retelling of the titular private detective's classic adventures. The critics may not have agreed with us entirely though. "A Game of Shadows" has a 60 percent fresh rating with critics on Rotten Tomatoes and didn't score any Oscar nominations. It also made $22 million less at the global box office than the original. But as esteemed film critic Leonard Maltin wrote in his review: "An elaborate production in every respect, 'A Game of Shadows' definitely gives you your money's worth."
No. 2: "Snatch"
Guy Ritchie enthusiasts typically cite the 2000 crime-comedy "Snatch" as the auteur's magnus opus. Jason Statham stars as Turkish — a boxing promoter who finds himself at the center of a drama regarding stolen diamonds in London's criminal underworld — in the beloved film, which scored a 73 percent fresh rating with critics on Rotten Tomatoes and reportedly made $83.5 million at the global box office on a slim $10 million production budget. The movie is notable for its inclusion of Brad Pitt as a (frequently shirtless) Irish gypsy and bare-knuckle boxing champion named Mickey. (Swoon!) "['Snatch'] manages the trick of keeping the viewer entertained — and aware of exactly who is where — even when the movie is going in three directions at the same time," wrote Variety critic Derek Elley in his review. But ultimately, there's nothing like the first time…
No. 1: "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"
Diehard Guy Ritchie fans mostly agree: The auteur scored his biggest hit to date with his 1998 feature film debut, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," which has a 76 percent fresh rating with critics on Rotten Tomatoes and won the BAFTA Audience Award in 1999. Guy Ritchie favorite Jason Statham stars as one of four friends who get into hot water with the criminal behind a high-stakes poker ring in the ensemble indie. "Even when the accents are as indecipherable as the plot, Ritchie keeps the action percolating and the humor on high," raved Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers. We couldn't have said it better ourselves. (And, yes, you should watch this one with subtitles turned on!)
