All 6 Gangster Movies Directed by Guy Ritchie, Ranked

Even though Guy Ritchie’s filmography isn’t the most consistent one out there, one does have to admire how steadily he’s been pumping out movies as of late, with half a dozen movies released between 2019 and 2024. This includes two releases in 2019, and two in 2023, and they’ve been particularly varied, too, including the likes of a Disney live-action remake (Aladdin), a war movie (The Covenant), and two action/spy/comedy films (Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre and the recent The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare).

He first burst onto the scene in the late 1990s, and for a good decade or so, was mostly known for his crime/gangster movies. It’s a genre he’s never fully abandoned as his career’s gone on, and his body of work’s become more eclectic, and remains the kind of movie for which he’s perhaps most celebrated to this day. Not every Ritchie gangster flick is a smashing success, but most are at the very least interesting, and there are at least a couple that hold up as classics, too. All of his gangster movies are ranked below, starting with the less-than-great and ending with the genuinely great.

6 ‘Revolver’ (2005)

Starring: Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, Vincent Pastore

Given it features actors well-associated with the gangster genre, like Ray Liotta (best-known for starring in Martin Scorsese’sGoodfellas) and Vincent Pastore (best-known for his role on The Sopranos), Revolver might make you wish you were watching a more compelling crime movie or series. It’s also got a distractingly not-bald Jason Statham in the lead role, and the plot… oh boy, how to even describe the plot. It’s messy. It’s so very, very messy, and strange, and repetitive, and frustrating, and frustrating, and repetitive, and overlong, and, not to mention, repetitive.

It admirably moves away from the sort of crime film Guy Ritchie had found breakout success making, beginning as a sort of gangster movie about a gambler dangerously in over his head with the wrong crowd and ending up more of a psychological thriller. The trouble is, it’s not really that compelling of a psychological thriller, frustrating more than it surprises or entertains. Revolver has a certain amount of infamy as one of Ritchie’s biggest critical misses, and if it were to count as a gangster film, it’s quite easily his worst.

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5 ‘Wrath of Man’ (2021)

Starring: Jason Statham, Holt McCallany, Josh Hartnett

Just as Revolver feels like a gangster film of sorts that leans more into psychological thriller territory, Wrath of Man sees Ritchie taking a new approach to the crime genre, stripping things down and focusing on action over dark comedy. It’s a rather bleak movie by the director’s standards, with far less humor than one might expect, and a real understated/blunt approach to depicting action, including numerous shootouts and some tense heist-related sequences.

It’s certainly better than Revolver, but Wrath of Man is almost comically simple, and it just sort of hits the same note over and over again, ensuring some tedium sets in. This isn’t helped by the fact that Wrath of Man feels about 15 to 20 minutes too long, and even if it saves some of its best action until right near the end, it’s still something of a relief when the credits eventually roll. Those who want a simple, no-nonsense crime/action/thriller movie might find a decent amount to like here, but Wrath of Man probably isn’t for everyone.

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4 ‘The Gentlemen’ (2019)

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Hugh Grant

Mentioning that Guy Ritchie directed six films between 2019 and 2024 – as was done before – is ultimately underselling just how prolific he’s been lately, because he also directed two out of eight episodes of the 2024 TV series The Gentlemen, a spin-off of the 2019 film of the same name. Both the series and the movie have been decently well-received, with 2019’s The Gentlemen being particularly reliable when it comes to scratching the same itch as Ritchie’s earlier classic (and very British) gangster films.

The large ensemble cast, profane banter, surprising plot twists, and dark/mean-spirited comedy running throughout make The Gentlemen feel like a minor return to form for Guy Ritchie, with it also standing as his first proper gangster movie released in over 10 years. It’s a messy watch at times, with certain stretches of the film proving more engaging than others (also, the meta-humor is a bit tedious), but when it hits its stride, The Gentlemen is a good bit of fun. It’s the kind of movie you watch and think to yourself, “Yes, that’s entertainment” right when it ends.

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3 ‘RocknRolla’ (2008)

Starring: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandiwe Newton

In 2008, the Sherlock Holmes movies were still a little way away, and it seemed as though Guy Ritchie wanted to bounce back gangster movie-wise, following on from the ambitious yet regrettably clunky Revolver. Enter RocknRolla, which is simply a very entertaining and overall solid gangster film, and one packed with great actors/characters. The plot they’re all wrapped up in is familiar, but it still works, mostly concerning a large amount of money generated through a real estate scam that various shady individuals want to get their hands on.

If you’ve seen a Guy Ritchie gangster film (or even just a handful of non-Ritchie gangster films), you’d probably expect betrayals, double-crosses, and murder to follow… and you’d be right on the money! There is a familiarity to RocknRolla, but it’s not in a way that feels too detrimental, and even if it can’t quite be considered an all-time great crime movie, it is undoubtedly one of the stronger gangster films Ritchie’s made so far.

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2 ‘Snatch’ (2000)

Starring: Brad Pitt, Jason Statham, Benicio del Toro

The first two gangster films directed by Guy Ritchie were the best two gangster films directed by Guy Ritchie, and picking between them when it comes to crowning one of the single greatest is difficult. So it’s with a heavy heart that Snatch just loses out on the top spot, but can still stand proud as, at worst, the second-best crime/gangster movie Ritchie’s ever made. It could also be his most ambitious, with the scale of the film and its unpredictability being two factors that go towards making it a great one.

Snatch also boasts one of Brad Pitt’s strangest, best, and most memorable performances, playing a rough and hilarious boxer who gets involved with the wrong crowd, all the while other scenes in the film are more focused on the aftermath of a diamond robbery. Things collide in chaotic and entertaining ways, and even if Snatch comes dangerously close to biting off more than it can chew, it nevertheless sticks the landing, all after balancing comedy and crime exceedingly well over the course of 103 minutes.

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1 ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ (1998)

Starring: Vinnie Jones, Dexter Fletcher, Jason Statham

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels rocks, and feels extra impressive because it was the film that allowed Guy Ritchie to absolutely explode onto the screen. Sure, he took a little from the likes of Scorsese, and definitely found some further influence from the style of Quentin Tarantino, but Ritchie still went ahead and did his own thing with some familiar ingredients. He was also praised for adding so many ingredients… like, good luck keeping track of the nearly countless number of rough-and-tumble gangsters up to no good who keep showing up throughout Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

It’s considered an all-time great non-American crime movie for good reason, following various young gangs who all get tangled up when one group attempts to pull a heist on another. There are immense consequences, things get messy, there is a good deal of blood spilled, and then, eventually, the most sympathetic of the characters simply just want to get out of the whole situation with their lives. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is gritty, dirty, rough, relentless, and also very funny, making it an undisputed winner and quite possibly the best of all the Guy Ritchie gangster movies.

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NEXT: This ‘80s British Gangster Movie Set the Bar for Guy Ritchie