--- title: "Snatch: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/snatch/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/snatch" critics_score: 63 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Snatch (2000): what the critics said Critics' score 63 from 13 reviews: 7 positive, 3 mixed, 3 negative. Most critics find Snatch an entertaining crime comedy, though enthusiasm is far from unanimous. Praise centres on Guy Ritchie’s energetic direction, tangled plotting and comic dialogue, with Brad Pitt the most consistently admired performer and Jason Statham and Alan Ford also earning notice. The favourable reviews enjoy the ensemble and gangland absurdity; even several sceptics acknowledge Pitt’s contribution or the energy of the filmmaking. The main division is over how much Ritchie’s return to the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels formula delivers. Some find a sharper, more assured entertainment; others find repetition, predictable characters and camera tricks that have lost their surprise. The spread is wide: Variety considers the writing improved and the cast more evenly matched, while Sight and Sound finds weak writing and little pacing or purpose. The Guardian’s otherwise favourable assessment also objects to ethnic caricatures and feeble satire. ## Variety — Derek Elley Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2000. Elley praises Ritchie for blowing away the sophomore curse with a less flashy but better written and more evenly cast crime seriocomedy that is lighter in tone, cleverly plotted, and entertaining with strong ensemble performances. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/snatch-1200464170/) ## Time Out — WH Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. Ritchie's follow-up is an even more craftily concocted underworld entertainment, with Pitt's casting as the bare-knuckle boxer adding significantly to its appeal. The comic tone is risqué and confident, balanced by showman's bravado, neat reversals and hyperbolic buffoonery. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/snatch) ## The New York Times — Elvis Mitchell Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. Mitchell calls the film a spicy, hyper-real comic strip that seizes British gangster machismo with action ferocity and comic potential, giving it a bit more emotional weight while retaining entertaining swagger as everything clicks by the end. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/19/movies/film-review-man-all-they-wanted-was-to-go-buy-a-trailer.html) ## Empire — Andrew Collins Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic finds Snatch entertaining but too similar to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, essentially a remix rather than a fresh follow-up. He praises the performances, especially by Jason Statham, Alan Ford, and Brad Pitt. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/snatch-review/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 August 2000. Writer-director Guy Ritchie serves up a canny rehash of the ingredients from Lock, Stock, adding bigger budget and star names to the tried formula of dodgy dealings and articulate gangland characters. It delivers cocky banter and bloodshed that admirers will expect, with Pitt good value. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/snatch/403380.article) ## The Guardian — Andrew Pulver Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2000. The critic praises Ritchie's frenetic plotting, cross-cutting and stylistic flourishes, along with strong turns from Jason Statham and Brad Pitt. He criticises the film's reliance on ethnic caricatures and feeble satire. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,362373,00.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2000. Turan finds the film a brisk, cheerfully amoral entertainment with complex plotting, colorful characters, and breezy dialogue, but it lacks the surprise of Ritchie's debut due to familiarity, though it remains a lethal diversion. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-06-ca-61695-story.html) ## Radio Times — Lorien Haynes Rating 3/5. Guy Ritchie replicates the formula of Lock, Stock without enough variation, resulting in a plot that feels like more of the same despite a talented cast including Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro. Ritchie directs well but should have left the writing to someone else. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-trgevr/snatch/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. Ebert finds the film slavishly follows the Lock, Stock formula with a perverse plot and cartoonish characters, making it hard to care about anyone or find a through line despite energetic direction and some witty dialogue. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/snatch-2001) ## Sight and Sound — Xan Brooks Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 October 2000. The critic finds Snatch a gaudy mess that feels made up as it goes along, with little pacing or purpose despite its ambitious multiculturalism and flashy style. Brad Pitt's performance stands out as the most convincing element amid stereotypes and weak writing. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/506) ## The AV Club — Nathan Rabin Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2000. The critic views Snatch as an extended, self-parodic homage to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels that adds American stars but loses the original's spark. The stylized banter feels mannered and the stylistic overkill becomes oppressive and desperate. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/snatch-1798192551) ## Collider — Jeffrey Speicher Rating A. 3 March 2023. Snatch is a rollicking good time that is never meant to be taken too seriously and is very aware of what it wants to be. It’s a well-shot, well-directed and well-acted piece that showcases the considerable talents of Alan Ford as Brick Top and benefits from accentuating Pitt’s weighty presence, though a niftier resolution to the fate of the diamond is penalized. [Read the review](https://collider.com/snatch-review-guy-ritchie/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. The critic finds Snatch more of the same as Lock Stock, over the top but not feeling fresh the second time around. They single out the predictability of characters and camera tricks as less clever on rerun, while noting Brad Pitt brings a different energy. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/snatch-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/snatch.md