|
LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS Send This Review to a Friend
Fresh from success in England,
Guy Ritchie's new crime comedy mixes the zany qualities of the classic "The Lavender
Hill Mob" with "Pulp Fiction" violence. Set in London's East End, the plot involves four
smart-alecky lads who plan a caper to come up with urgently needed money and find
themselves enmeshed in more trouble than they could have envisioned.
The mates, engagingly played by Nick Moran, Jason Flemyng, Jason Statham and
Dexter Fletcher, tangle with characters such as crime boss Hatchet Harry, portrayed by
P.H. Moriarty, enforcer Big Chris, played by soccer star Vinnie Jones, and others for
whom violent retribution is a way of life and point of honor. Sting has a role as a bar
owner. Ritchie, who wrote as well as directed, keeps the plot spinning ingeniously
through a series of uproarious confrontations and complications. The violence has a
comic strip quality that keeps it from becoming off-putting.
Which set of criminals does one root for? It's no contest--the fearless four are the
favorites, and it's fun watching them struggle to survive, especially when dumb luck
intervenes. The mayhem, bumbling, brutality and danger give the film a fast and furious
comic spirit, and Ritchie comes up with a very funny, ironic ending.
This is smart entertainment blessed with a large and colorful cast, realistic London
settings and even a smattering of subtitles when the lingo gets too slangy for American
audiences. No wonder the Brits loved it. A Gramercy Pictures release.
|