Turkish: Jason Statham	Boris the Blade: Rade Serbedzija
Tommy: Stephen Graham	Sol: Lennie James
Vinny: Robbie Gee	Tyrone: Ade
Director: Guy Ritchie	Franky Four Fingers: Benicio Del Toro
Cousin Avi: Dennis Farina	Bullet Tooth Tony: Vinnie Jones
One Punch Mickey: Brad Pitt

30 Second Bottom Line: Set in England, Snatch is a story with lots of twists and turns, involving a stolen 28-carat diamond; underground boxing matches; illegal dogfights; and Gypsies living in a trailer park.

Story Line: Many good crime movies build up to a major heist, yet Snatch earns its name with a big theft as the opening credits are rolling. Turkish (Jason Statham) and Franky (Benicio Del Toro) are part of a gang of four, dressed as Orthodox Jewish jewelers they steal a 28-carat diamond.

Turkish is also an unlicensed boxing promoter, who recruits One Punch Mickey (Brad Pitt) to replace an injured fighter who was to take a dive in the fourth round. Things get complicated when Mickey gets so irritated with the pre fight taunting that he takes his opponent out with one punch, right after the opening bell. Turkish now has problems of what to do with the diamond and how to appease the gangster who lost money on the fight.

Some of the other neighborhood boys are Sol (Lennie James) and Vinny (Robbie Gee). They are inept, small time gangsters who might have trouble holding up a lemonade stand managed by a 5 year-old. When they bring on their get away driver Tyrone (Ade), you know that if they robbed the roadside stand, they would get caught before they could drive 1,000 feet. This trio supports the bigger stories of the boxing and jewel theft with great hilarity.

Cousin Avi (Dennis Farina), who lives in New York City, fears that Franky will lose everything because of his love for gambling. In literally 5 seconds, quick film cutting shows Cousin Avi being upset on the phone, saying he is coming to London, going to the airport, being on a plane crossing the ocean, and finally showing up in Britain for a meeting.

The highlight of the film is a boxing sequence toward the end, that has choreography and punch on par with Raging Bull, spun with a touch of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon action.

Tell Me More About It: Brad Pitt arguably gives his best performance ever as a bare-knuckle Gypsie boxer, who has plenty of spirit and knows what he wants, even though when he says it, you are not sure you understand a word of what's said.

I tend to agree with some critics who feel that this second feature length film by Guy Ritchie is essentially a polished up version of his first movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. It's similar in that it follows the pursuits of low life types in Britain with goof ball names. The biggest difference is that the characters here are much better developed, and in looking at this film it is as fresh as if Lock…Barrels had never been made. It's a very funny movie with lots of style.

Another wonderful sequence that brought howls of laughter from the audience is the parallel action of Tyrone in a chase scene going back and forth, while a dog is chasing a rabbit. It makes you realize just how thin the line is between animal and human behavior.

If the film is marketed properly, moviegoers won't think this is a British remake of Fight Club. This art house film will be released at your local megaplex, I suppose because of the Brad Pitt factor, and I predict it will be a moderate box office success. I hope so, as it may help art house films in general obtain an initial wide release, as was the case with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Quills. Last year was generally thought to be a weak year for quality films, and with early releases like Snatch, Ratcatcher, and Panic, things are looking promising for 2001.

Guy Ritchie: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels	Jason Statham: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Rade Sherbedgia: Space Cowboys	Lennie James: Les Miserables
Stephen Graham: Downtime	Ade: Debut
Dennis Farina: Get Shorty	Vinnie Jones: Gone in Sixty Seconds
Brad Pitt: Fight Club	Benicio Del Toro: Traffic; The Pride