In the past year's craze of "let's capitalize on a successful movie by turning it into a TV-show for nostalgic 30-somethings", "Snatch" follows the same recipe, taking enough elements from the original to justify the use of the name, but still understanding that's it a TV show and needs to be treated accordingly.
And, as with all these shows I've viewed recently (Lethal Weapon, Rush Hour, Westworld), it unfortunately doesn't manage to get above the level of "decent entertainment".
This show, among its qualities, has two main problems :
-- Not everyone has the directing and writing talents of Guy Ritchie, and not everyone has the charisma of Jason Statham or Brad Pitt. The directors and leads of this show certainly don't. The main characters are not bad, in writing and acting, and do generate some sympathy, but when you compare them to such flamboyant characters as Mickey or Boris the Blade, these new heroes taste very bland.
-- The "Snatch formula" worked incredibly well when packed in a 90-minutes movie. When it is diluted in 8 hours of a 10 episodes series, the effect is far from being the same. Goofy gangsters, funny dialogues and stylish editing are lost amidst family drama, love interests and other stuff that is just there to increase the overall length. Let's just hope that the happy ending will keep the authors from making a second season.
And, as with all these shows I've viewed recently (Lethal Weapon, Rush Hour, Westworld), it unfortunately doesn't manage to get above the level of "decent entertainment".
This show, among its qualities, has two main problems :
-- Not everyone has the directing and writing talents of Guy Ritchie, and not everyone has the charisma of Jason Statham or Brad Pitt. The directors and leads of this show certainly don't. The main characters are not bad, in writing and acting, and do generate some sympathy, but when you compare them to such flamboyant characters as Mickey or Boris the Blade, these new heroes taste very bland.
-- The "Snatch formula" worked incredibly well when packed in a 90-minutes movie. When it is diluted in 8 hours of a 10 episodes series, the effect is far from being the same. Goofy gangsters, funny dialogues and stylish editing are lost amidst family drama, love interests and other stuff that is just there to increase the overall length. Let's just hope that the happy ending will keep the authors from making a second season.