Guy Ritchie is the rare filmmaker who became more interesting when he pushed into the realm of studio journeyman.
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he → become → journeyman
In his early years, he was known for a highly specific type of British gangster comedy, then for branching out for more serious crime movies and the remake (and massive flop) Swept Away.
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he → know → movies
After that, he seemed eager to start a Hollywood franchise with the Sherlock Holmes movies, a stab at King Arthur, and even a Disney remake.
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he → seem → Arthur
Since Aladdin’s billion-dollar success in 2019, Ritchie has returned to smaller-scale projects — and has seemingly doubled his productivity.
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Ritchie → return → productivity
He’s on course to direct a movie a year for the entirety of the 2020s, and at this point he’s been involved with five TV series (three of which were based on his films).
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three → ’ → films
With one of his signature shows, MobLand, returning to Paramount+ today, viewers may be in the mood to catch up with his past projects.
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viewers → return → projects
Here’s a chronological rundown of the Guy Ritchie movies and shows currently available to stream on various subscription services.
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rundown → ’ → services
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Snatch (Plex)
Ritchie rocketed out of the gate with a pair of beloved British crime comedies: His flashy debut Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and its companion piece Snatch.
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Ritchie → rocket → comedies
Lock Stock, as its fans affectionately refer to it, doesn’t turn up that often on streaming, but honestly, Snatch is the better movie, with an international cast of hooligans (including Brad Pitt playing an unintelligible boxer) and a kickass soundtrack (a great Oasis instrumental figures prominently).
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instrumental → refer → boxer
As far as Ritchie’s original formula of quarrelsome lads, labyrinthine mix-ups, and occasional gunplay, it’s the best of the lot.
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it → ’ → lot
Stream Snatch on Plex -
Aladdin (Disney+)
At the moment, movies from Ritchie’s blockbuster period are mostly available just to rent.
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movies → stream → period
Among those, The Man From U.N.C.L.E is by far the best: fleet, stylish, fun, and slightly unfortunately, co-starring Armie Hammer.
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Man → co → Hammer
I’m also partial to the ridiculousness of his attempted King Arthur reboot.
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I → ’m → reboot
But even the lesser Ritchie blockbusters like his version of Aladdin have their charms.
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blockbusters → have → charms
While adapting a G-rated cartoon necessitates sanding off some of his most welcome edges, Ritchie still delivers more energy than most of his fellow cursed-remake shepherds.
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Ritchie → adapt → shepherds
Plus, it’s just about the only Guy Ritchie movie you could watch with a five-year-old.
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you → ’ → old
StreaM Aladdin on Disney+ -
The Gentlemen (Netflix)
A story so nice, he made it twice in quick succession: After The Gentlemen worked as Ritchie’s post-Disney reset movie, he spun off a TV series set in the same universe with new characters (and, of course, a less starry cast).
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he → make → course
The entire Gentlemen saga is available on Netflix, and while the film doesn’t quite capture the full glory of his best crime comedies, the expansiveness of the TV show is fun for aficionados of this subgenre.
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expansiveness → capture → subgenre
Stream The Gentlemen on Netflix -
Wrath of Man (AMC+)
Ritchie’s reunion with Jason Statham after many years apart is far less lighthearted than its follow-up collabo Operation Fortune.
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reunion → stream → collabo
It’s one of Ritchie’s more hard-boiled crime pictures, a Los Angeles-set neo-noir revenge story with a bit of macho comic relief.
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It → ’ → relief
It’s also an impressive bit of B-picture craftsmanship, and one of Statham’s better recent roles.
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He plays an armored-car driver with a hidden agenda.
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He → play → agenda
This is a very silly caper movie, but it’s one of the most charming and breezy of Ritchie’s career.
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it → ’ → career
Stream Operation Fortune on lionsgate+ -
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant (Hulu)
The only movie where Guy Ritchie is awarded a possessive credit in the style of John Carpenter or, if you will, Lee Cronin, presumably having something to do with the existence of a boy-witch movie also called The Covenant.
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you → stream → movie
Anyway, this movie introduced Ritchie to his boy Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays a military man determined to single-handedly rescue his imperiled translator from war-torn Afghanistan.
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who → introduce → Afghanistan
It feels a bit more like a Peter Berg joint that a slick Ritchie undertaking, which is impressive for his range but not necessarily for its quality.
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which → feel → quality
Stream The Covenant on Hulu -
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (Netflix)
Ritchie made a play for dad-movie royalty with this World War II thriller based on a true story.
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Ritchie → stream → story
It’s essentially a poor man’s Inglourious Basterds, but that’s not such a bad thing to be, especially with a cast full of hot people (Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Henry Golding), plus Reacher himself, Alan Ritchson.
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that → ’ → people
Stream The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare on Netflix -
Fountain of Youth (Apple TV+)
Not one of Ritchie’s better recent capers, to be honest, but it’s mostly down to John Krasinski not having the right energy for a wiseass Indiana Jones knockoff.
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Krasinski → stream → knockoff
Natalie Portman has some fun as his annoyed sister, while Ritchie’s apparent gal Friday Eiza González makes an appealing antagonist.
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gal → have → antagonist
It’s not quite National Treasure, but on a lazy Sunday afternoon, it might do the trick.
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it → ’ → trick
Stream Fountain of Youth on Apple TV+ -
MobLand (Paramount+)
Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, and Paddy Considine are high-level enough to star in a Ritchie movie, but somehow he convinced them all to do his streaming crime drama show instead.
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he → stream → show
It’s become one of Paramount’s biggest hits and returns for a second season this month.
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Stream Mobland on Paramount+ -
Young Sherlock (Prime Video)
Confusingly, this is not a prequel to Ritchie’s two-movie series of films starring Robert Downey Jr. as the famous fictional detective.
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this → stream → detective
That experience must have simply convinced studios that Ritchie is the world’s foremost Holmes whisperer.
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Ritchie → convince → studios
The show follows a young Holmes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) befriending co-ed James Moriarty (Dónal Finn) at Oxford in the 1870s.
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show → follow → 1870s
The Ritchie empire continues to expand!
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empire → continue → ?
Stream Young Sherlock on Prime Video
Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn.
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Hassenger → stream → Brooklyn
He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others.
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He → ’ → others
The Aporia
