Snatch.

For most people there are those movies that you should have seen by now, but haven't, for whatever reason. Some people haven't seen The Godfather, some people haven't seen The Shawshank Redemption, and, until now, I hadn't seen Snatch.. And, a couple of days later, I'm still trying to suss out exactly what I thought.

There is no doubt in my mind that I enjoyed it.

It's funny. Jason Statham and Vinnie Jones especially are a constant pleasure to watch. It came as a great surprise to me that I could enjoy Vinnie Jones. Before now, I had only seen him in X-Men: The Last Stand and The Condemned, so my track record with him hasn't been outstanding. As strange as this sounds, Snatch. made me feel the same way The O.C. and Firefly do, in that they all make me want to change the way I talk. If I could be as constantly clever and sarcastic (and British) as Statham and Jones, I would be incredibly pleased with myself (although no one would want to talk to me).

The other characters are fun as well. The whole movie is a study in quirk, where every different person has on-the-surface neuroses and characteristics that stand out from the crowd. Maybe it's because, in a world of crime, being recognizable as a crazy mf-er is what keeps you alive. Then again, it may just be because when your life is constantly hanging on split-second decisions, you just don't have any time for pretense.

The lifestyle these characters lead is intriguing in terms of the affect it has on the people around them. Everyone seems stunted in their development, like they're all children playing a game they're not supposed to. As soon as someone catches them doing something they'll probably get in trouble for (like when Brick Top enters the pawn shop), the foot-shuffling and eye-aversion starts. There's a hierarchy in this crime world, but it's so tangled that people only know who they're afraid of, and who's afraid of them.

Then there's the style of the thing. It's like Baz Luhrmann without all the glitter.

The story itself is also a delight, in its eccentricity and wackiness. There's not really any point in predicting where the story's going to go. It's more like a roller coaster, in that you just trust that it'll take you somewhere that's worth going. But, just like a theme park ride, once you get off, you're back where you started. The only thing that's changed is that you can now say that you've been on a really good roller coaster. Unless you're planning on becoming a criminal or Guy Ritchie, Snatch. is not going to change your life. However, I think it's expecting a little much to roast a movie if the only thing that I don't love about it is that it's kind of inconsequential. And really, I do love roller coasters.

Rating: 3.75 stars