Film

Plunkett & Macleane

A 1999 action-comedy about two 18th-century highwaymen—a street criminal and a broke aristocrat—who team up to rob the rich and sparkling with anachronistic energy. It's silly, stylish, and moving faster than it probably should, pitched somewhere between *Ocean's Eleven* and a Guy Ritchie fever dream. For anyone who loves scrappy period pieces with a twinkle in their eye.

TMDb rating3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like your period caper stuffed with swagger, sly banter and a buddy bond that gets tested, the kind of script that cheerfully mixes costume romance with rough-and-tumble street crime.

Skip it if you want a sober history lesson or slow-burn period drama; this one is scrappy, quick and tonally restless, lurching between jokes and cruelty with little patience for atmosphere.

What it asks of you: It runs a brisk 93 minutes and rarely lets the camera sit still, so it asks you to keep up with rapid switches between romance, banter and violence.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Four Rooms1995

Riotous ensemble chaos in a confined space, with Tarantino and Rodriguez directing different segments. Anarchic energy, a stellar cast having visibly enormous fun, and the kind of movie that swings wildly between hilarious and completely unhinged.

But Aggressively silly in a way that can feel self-satisfied; some sections land better than others, and patience with deliberate chaos isn't universal.

Four Rooms poster

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels1998

Rapid-fire crime comedy with multiple interlocking plots, distinctive characters, and a London underworld crackling with dark humour. The energy is infectious and the cast commits to every ridiculous beat without winking.

But The deliberate excess and cockney-heavy dialogue can feel exhausting rather than exhilarating if you're not riding the film's particular wave.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels poster

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen1988

Wildly imaginative period fantasia with impossible visuals and a tone that refuses to sit still. Terry Gilliam at maximum invention, blending spectacle with genuine warmth and anarchic charm that feels completely unhinged.

But Narratively meandering and visually overwhelming; some find Gilliam's maximalism exhausting rather than dazzling.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Plunkett & Macleane

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

In Bruges2008

Both pair mismatched characters forced into partnership through crime, but *In Bruges* uses the buddy dynamic to explore guilt and violence rather than play it for laughs—it's what happens when the con stops being funny.

Two hitmen hide out in the medieval Belgian city after a job goes catastrophically wrong. It's funny and violent and heartbreaking in a way that feels completely unexpected—the tone shifts genuinely matter because the characters matter.

But The violence is sudden and consequential rather than entertaining; beneath the dark comedy is real moral weight and grief that can feel heavy.

In Bruges poster
More like this (8)

The Gentlemen2020

Stylish ensemble crime caper with witty banter, intricate plotting, and a cast clearly delighted to be there. The tone balances humour and stakes without ever becoming too serious about itself.

But Approaches sexism and violence with a smirk that doesn't always justify itself; can feel more impressed with its own cleverness than genuinely funny.

The Gentlemen poster

Foolproof2003

Three friends plan increasingly audacious heists driven by camaraderie and banter rather than stakes or complexity. Lightweight, charming, and funny in a way that doesn't demand too much investment.

But Deliberately thin plot and character work; some will find it forgettable rather than pleasantly diverting.

Foolproof poster

Johnny English2003

Rowan Atkinson as a bumbling spy in a comedy that understands physical comedy and commitment to absurdity. It's silly and knowing without ever becoming mean-spirited or trying too hard to seem clever.

But The humour is broad and straightforward; anyone allergic to slapstick and fish-out-of-water setups should steer clear.

Johnny English poster

Bandolero!1968

James Stewart and Dean Martin as charming outlaws in a Western that's genuinely funny and surprisingly touching. Period adventure that knows when to wink at its own conventions without completely abandoning them.

But The pacing is leisurely by modern standards, and some of the gender dynamics feel dated in ways that don't always work as period colour.

Bandolero! poster

The Great Race1965

Blake Edwards' sprawling, ambitious comedy following a good guy and a villain on a globe-trotting adventure. Absurdist energy, genuine spectacle, and the kind of old-fashioned filmmaking that swings for the fences.

But Nearly three hours long, structurally messy, and committed to jokes that don't always land—patience required and not everyone will have it.

The Great Race poster

Stardust2007

Romantic fantasy adventure that balances swashbuckling action with genuine charm and a cast giving it everything they've got. Captures the same mixture of irreverence and heart without cynicism.

But Unabashedly earnest about its fairy-tale romance in a way some find saccharine; the tonal mix isn't always smooth.

Stardust poster

Barry Lyndon1975

Another rogue navigating 18th-century society through schemes and charm, but *Barry Lyndon* strips away sentimentality to show what happens when the game ends—how every con contains its own punishment.

Kubrick's 18th-century picaresque following a con man through period violence, seduction, and downward mobility. Shot like Rembrandt paintings, it moves in a completely different register—austere, glacial, and devastating.

But Methodically paced, emotionally cold, and visually restrained in ways that demand patience and reward detachment rather than investment.

Barry Lyndon poster

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang2005

Both are comedies about class collision and unlikely partnerships where charm and quick thinking are survival tools—but *Kiss Kiss Bang Bang* inverts it by having the criminal be the moral compass while everyone else scrambles.

A failed actor turned accidental detective stumbles through Hollywood crime with a private investigator, narrated by a gay thug. Clever, vulgar, genuinely funny, and operating in multiple tones at once—it understands its own contradictions.

But The narration can feel smug, the self-awareness occasionally tips into showing off, and it mistakes density for depth sometimes.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang poster

People

Cast

Directing

Writing

Production

Recommended by

Rob Roy