Director Guy Ritchie has been in the news quite a bit lately, but not just because of his film making. The sly Brit recently married Madonna, and that seems to be on everyone's mind. With his new film Snatch, Ritchie seems to be more interested in the look of his picture rather than the story telling. The same was the case with his debut, the much talked about and highly overrated Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Like his last picture, Snatch is a hip, loud, hodgepodge of smooth talking criminals, gun toting heavies, and outlandish situations. At the center of it all are Benicio Del Toro (in a far too small role) as diamond thief, and a hilariously manic Brad Pitt as a tough Irishman who no one can seem to understand.

Ritchie loves the camera and that is apparent, as Snatch doesn't sit still for a moment. Sometimes that hurts the film, because it doesn't really get a chance to breathe. If I wanted to watch a music video, I'd stay home and watch MTV. I'm also not terribly keen on the story which just seemed all too familiar to me. Still, it's hard to deny this guy's love for film, and this movie never seems self indulgent like say...PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON'S MAGNOLIA! Quite often Ritchie has been compared to Quentin Tarantino, but I wouldn't go that far. Ritchie certainly loves to put his characters in hilariously dangerous situations, but Tarantino seems to savor the characters themselves. Ritchie seems more interested in the situation.

Some of the performances here are quite engaging. As stated earlier, Pitt seems to be having a good time, and those of you put off by his accent in The Devil's Own (which I really liked), will be won over by his lingo this time out. I also liked Alan Ford as the mob boss and Vinnie Jones as an intelligent hitman. Del Toro is wasted, however, in a brief appearance, while dependable Dennis Farina does a variation of his superior turns in Get Shorty and Midnight Run.

As a comedy, Snatch doesn't quite cut it. Much of the humor just isn't that funny. As a turbulent crime story, the movie usually succeeds, thanks to Ritchie's dazzling eye and sure handed sense of timing. Snatch is not perfection, but it does fare better in the genre than The Way of the Gun.