Snatch (2000)

Snatch is the fast-paced tale of the fate of a rather large stolen diamond. Naturally, a rock of such value attracts many interested parties, each of which tends to maintain possession of the jewel just long enough to celebrate their victory, before once again losing it. The film quickly becomes a frantic game of three-card monte, and the viewer is forced to just sit back and wait to see where it all ends up.

And that's the primary problem with the movie. There's not a whole lot of character development, so it's difficult to decide who we should be rooting for in this tremendously complicated game of cat and mouse. The first half-hour is especially tough because we have to very quickly digest 15 or 20 different characters, most of whom speak in a very thick Cockney accent which further obfuscates their identities and motivation.

Despite its shortcomings, Snatch is extremely well filmed and edited, and in all honesty the movie probably wouldn't have worked at all if director Guy Ritchie had done it any other way. It's something of a mix between a dark comedy and an action film, along the lines of American Psycho meets Reservoir Dogs. The aforementioned lack of character development leaves the ending somewhat unfulfilling; as if we just sat and watched this game of hot potato, but in the end have nothing to show for it but 100-some minutes of elapsed time. Still, it's a moderately entertaining film with a few excellent comedic moments and enough good cinematography to be worth a look.