‘The Gentlemen’ series review: This Guy Ritchie spin-off is stylish and senseless

Though beautifully dressed with extraordinarily erudite turns of phrase, Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen-inspired series is rather boring

Guy Ritchie’s 2019 film, The Gentlemen, featured Mickey Pearson, played by Matthew McConaughey, using stately English homes to run his weed empire. The impoverished aristocrats used the rent for the upkeep of their historical homes. The latest eight-episode Netflix series, created by Ritchie, is inspired by the movie.

Eddie (Theo James) is a brave soldier with the UN Peacekeeping Force solving disputes involving sheep on the Syrian border, when the family lawyer, Ahmed Iqbal (Ranjit Krishnamma), comes to tell him that his father, the Duke of Halstead (Edward Fox), is gravely ill.

Eddie returns home to England and after the Duke’s death is shocked to learn that he (Eddie) has been named successor to the title and land. Freddie (Daniel Ings), Eddie’s elder brother, who should have inherited, is too cocaine-addled to be reliable. Though Freddie throws a mini-tantrum at being passed over, he soon calms down and tells Eddie the true reason for his distress.

He apparently owes an evil Scouser, Tommy Dixon (Peter Serafinowicz), 8 million pounds. There is some mention of Sticky Pete (Joshua McGuire) and his money-making schemes. Just as Eddie is grappling with this seemingly insurmountable problem, Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario) walks in.

Susie tells Eddie some home truths, chief among them being that her father, Bobby Glass (Ray Winstone), presently in jail, was using the manor grounds to grow cannabis, paying an annual rent of 5 million pounds to Eddie’s father.

While her father is in jail, Susie runs his business empire and meets the present duke to ensure the agreement still holds. Eddie would like to get Halstead Manor free of Glass’ clutches but also needs the criminals to extricate Freddie from his troubles.

Over eight episodes, Eddie tries various deals and counter deals to get out all the while meeting a colourful cast of characters. All Ritchie trademarks are present — from the sudden shocking violence and jolly pop songs to wildly eccentric characters, wry, deprecating English humour, boxing, and hand-written subtitles in yellow to bring the audience up to speed.