Last week I declared Guy Ritchie’s latest film to be one of my most-dreaded titles for this upcoming fall, and this trailer is a big reason why. Normally, with such an insistently-cut trailer, I’d wonder if it might just be trying to punch up a somewhat less aggressive movie. However, seeing as how every movie Ritchie has made that wasn’t Swept Away looks exactly like this- convoluted gangland proceedings, gonzo violence, a laddish sense of humor, in-your-face onscreen text, show-offy camera tricks out the wazoo- I don’t think that’s the case here. One would think that the disastrous reception to Ritchie’s Revolver would relegate this to a direct-to-DVD release. But since it stars 300’s newly-anointed star Gerard Butler, this is practically guaranteed to receive a nationwide booking. And I suppose that’s fine- far be it from me to begrudge a filmmaker the chance to get his work seen. But that doesn’t mean I have to buy a ticket.
