average, nothing special (Snatch - Soundtrack)

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Product:	Snatch - Soundtrack
Date:	25/08/01 (1020 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: the film is great, good gansta tunes if you like that, its not that bad

Disadvantages: if i had the choice now i wouldnt buy it, if you shop around you can get it under a tenner, do you like weed?

Somehow, despite having made just one movie, British director Guy Ritchie is one of the hot new talents in town, and his new movie picks up where the critically acclaimed Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels left off. I think I was one of the only people left totally bemused by the success of Lock Stock. An over-hyped, over-exposed Cockney crime thriller with allusions to Get Carter, the movie left me cold, and despite the technical excellence, labyrinthine narrative and moments of absurdist humour, I felt that so much was lacking. So what kind film does Ritchie make as his follow up? A cockney crime thriller with allusions to Get Carter. Snatch features a cast of British heavyweights (including Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones, Alan Ford and Mike Reid) alongside a genuine Hollywood superstar (Brad Pitt) and several familiar character actors (Dennis Farina and Rade Sherbedgia) in a convoluted tale of international diamond smuggling, illegal boxing matches, gangsters, gunrunners, and all manner of murder and mayhem. Plot-wise, the film actually makes much more sense than Lock Stock did, and is a genuine improvement over its predecessor in virtually every respect. The eccentricities of the characters are toned down somewhat, although much of the flamboyant dress sense, language and humour remains intact, and the performances by the much more experienced cast are good. Alan Ford is especially worth mentioning as the unrelentingly evil crime boss Brick Top who feeds his victims to his prize-winning pigs, former soccer star Vinnie Jones continues to impress as the debonair hitman Bullet Tooth Tony, and Pitt undergoes a massive role-reversal as a gypsy bare-knuckle fighter with an unintelligible accent. Having finally made a break from his long-term writing partner David A. Hughes, John Murphy's first solo score is an eclectic, sprightly affair, taking leitmotivic musical inspiration from the rich ethnic textures of each character's backgrounds. There's funky stand-u
p bass jazz for the boxing promoter Turkish and his hapless sidekick Tommy; an undulating flute motif for Boris the Blade; some cool ska and reggae riffs for the clueless pawn-shop owners Vinny and Sol; and a lively pastiche combining elements of Irish and Hungarian folk music for One-Punch Mickey and the local "pikies". The whole thing is topped off by a constant, driving electronic rhythm that edges the film forwards. The CD, however, is a different matter, featuring just one Murphy cut that is totally swamped by a disk full of popular Britpop artistes whose sole contribution to the film is to shift units and boost profits. The Specials, Massive Attack, Mirwais, Madonna, Oasis and The Stranglers get top billing instead

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