9 Ways Guy Ritchie Remade His Own Story

Warning! Contains major spoilers for Netflix’s The Gentlemen.

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Summary
The Gentlemen on Netflix offers original storylines accessible to new viewers, while subtly connecting to the original movie universe.
Both the film and show feature familiar elements like fast-paced action, one-liners, and intense twists, keeping audiences hooked throughout.
Characters like fixers Stevens and Raymond, and similarities in businesses and products, establish a direct link between the show and the movie.

Netflix’s The Gentlemen presents original storylines that viewers who have not seen the original film can easily comprehend and enjoy. However, despite having a standalone narrative, the Guy Ritchie show drops several nods and references to the 2019 film that confirm the show and the movie are set in the same universe. While some of these references are clear name-drops, others are just thematic parallels that reveal how Guy Ritchie revamped his own story.

Unlike the original The Gentlemen movie, which begins with bloodshed and intensity, the Netflix series initially takes time to build up to its pivotal moments. However, once it catches pace, it features everything one would expect from a Guy Ritchie movie or show — from fast-cut scenes to realistic and white-knuckling action, from memorable one-liners to well-thought-out twists. Despite having all the elements commonly found in Guy Ritchie’s films and featuring callbacks to the original movie, Netflix’s The Gentlemen remains unpredictable and entertaining throughout its runtime.

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9 English Lords Marijuana Businesses On Their Lands In Both

The Gentlemen TV show and movie portray secret businesses in aristocratic lands

In Netflix’s The Gentlemen, Theo James’ Eddie inherits his father’s massive aristocratic estate and soon discovers a cannabis lab in its vicinity. The original Guy Ritchie movie features a scene where Matthew McCounaghey’s Mickey Pearson shows Berger how he runs his marijuana businesses on lands owned by aristocratic lords. Both the film and the show establish that aristocrats allow these illegal businesses to function on their premises because they need liquid money to maintain their homes and upkeep their lifestyles.

8 Alexis Rodney’s Stevens And Charlie Hunnam’s Raymond Are Fixers

Stevens and Raymond are both right-hand men for drug kingpins

Alexis Rodney portrays Stevens in Netflix’s The Gentlemen, who serves as Stanley Johnston’s fixer. He is his right-hand man and does nearly everything for him — from setting up deals to ensuring his safety in the treacherous drug business. Charlie Hunnam plays a similar role in the original The Gentlemen movie by portraying Raymond, Mickey Pearson’s loyal and resourceful fixer who protects his boss’ interests at all costs.

7 The Film And The Show Feature The Same Product

Both have the White Widow Super Cheese

While Bobby Glass seems to be selling several variants of marijuana through his aristocratic labs, Netflix’s The Gentlemen specifically mentions the name “White Widow Super Cheese.” Matthew McConaughey’s Mickey Pearson sells the same product in the original Guy Ritchie film. While this reference could be a mere name-drop that establishes a loose connection between the show and the movie, it could also pave the way for Mickey Pearson’s appearance in The Gentlemen season 2 if Netflix renews the Guy Ritchie show.

6 Martha Millman’s Mercy And Michelle Dockery’s Rosaline Run Their Own Garages

Different female leads run similar businesses

Although Michelle Dockery’s Rosaline from the movie has more in common with Kaya Scodelario’s Susie Glass from the show, her line of business is similar to another character from the series. Like Rosaline, Martha Millman’s Mercy is a car dealer and garage owner. Similar to Michelle Dockery’s The Gentlemen character, she has also grown calloused from years of navigating the rough and tumble world of crime and, ironically, shows no mercy towards those who get in her way.

5 Like Mickey, Tommy Dixon Uses A Fishing Business As A Cover

The fishing business in both becomes the perfect setting for a similar scene

Mickey Pearson has a frozen fish plant in Guy Ritchie’s original The Gentlemen movie, which he uses as a cover for his European distribution operation. In the film’s final arc, he even shuts Matthew Berger in a freezer and threatens to freeze him to death if he does not send him £270 million. Something similar unfolds in the Netflix series. Tommy Dixon also runs a fake fishing business and puts Freddy in a freezer when he fails to pay him back his loaned money.

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4 The Film And The Show Feature Similar Poisoning Scenes

The show recreates the movie’s iconic poison scene

One of the most intense moments in 2019’s The Gentlemen is when Mickey visits Lord George and seeks revenge by bribing his cook and poisoning his tea. Only after Lord George throws up all over the place and realizes the consequences of messing with Mickey, Mickey offers him an antidote. Theo James’ Eddie uses a similar method to poison his distributor, Florian de Groot. Groot, too, only receives the antidote when he opens up about who has been trying to sabotage the Glass’ business.

3 The “Jungle” Allegory Is Used In Both

Mickey and Eddie compare their worlds with jungles

Matthew McConaughey’s Mickey Pearson often uses the jungle as a metaphor to describe the hierarchies in his world of crime. “There’s only one rule in the jungle: when the lion’s hungry, he eats!” he quotes. In another scene, he also says that acting like the king is not enough to be The King of the Jungle — one has to become the king with no doubt because “doubt causes chaos and one’s own demise.” Theo James’ Eddie also often finds himself drawing parallels between the jungle and his newfound world of crime and even associates his castle-like with the zoo.

2 Freddy’s Punishment Is Reminiscent Of Big Dave’s

While Freddy dresses up as a Rooster, Dave does something far worse

Tommy Dixon agrees to significantly reduce the amount Freddy has to pay him to clear his debts. However, he adds a caveat: Freddy must dress up like a chicken and pretend to be one while being filmed. In the original Guy Ritchie movie, The Toddlers use a similar tactic on Big Dave by drugging him and filming him in humiliating situations with a pig.

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1 Both Use Boxing As A Plot Device

Boxing is a recurring device in several Guy Ritchie films

Like Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, both The Gentlemen movie and the show use the sport of boxing as a clever narrative device. In the original The Gentlemen movie, Colin Farrell plays the role of a boxing coach who tries to instill values and life lessons in his boys throughout the sport of boxing. Meanwhile, in Netflix’s The Gentlemen, Henry Collins threatens Susie that he will get her boxer brother gravely injured in a boxing match if she does not sell him her father’s business.

The Gentlemen season 1 is available on Netflix for streaming.

The Gentlemen

Based on the film of the same name, the Gentlemen is a crime drama series created for Netflix by Guy Ritchie. The series follows Eddie Horniman, who inherits his father’s estate, only to discover he has inherited a vast cannabis empire – and all of the rivals that come with it.