8 'Next Big Thing' Movie Directors Who Didn't Live Up To The Hype

7. Guy Ritchie

In the early 2000s, Guy Ritchie was one of the most exciting directors to come out of Britain. With Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as well as Snatch, the director etched out a distinctive style for himself, drawing inevitable comparisons to Quentin Tarantino.

It didn't take long for him to break America, snapped up to take on a big-screen version of Sherlock Holmes just as his allure in the British filmmaking scene was starting to fade after a couple of duds like RocknRolla.

The series was a commercial success, but only the first instalment was actually any good, with the director's once-endearing indulgent style resulting in an underwhelming sequel.

Unfortunately, the same problems tanked his follow-up movies, with The Man From U.N.C.L.E. being a middling effort while King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was one of the most misguided attempts at kickstarting a franchise this decade.

Ritchie is allegedly returning to his roots with the upcoming British crime film Toff Guys, but at this point it might be too little, too late.