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October 1999

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Reviewed by Roger Kanno
DVD Format

Overall Enjoyment: ****
Picture Quality: ***
Sound Quality: ***1/2
Packaged Extras: ***

Starring Jason Flemying, Dexter Fletcher, Vinnie Jones, Stenen Mackintosh, Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Sting

Directed by Guy Ritchie

Theatrical Release: 1998
DVD Release: 1999
Dolby Digital 5.1
Full Screen/Widescreen (Anamorphic)


If you think that there has been a proliferation of fast-talking, action-oriented, hip movies these days, you are probably right. Ever since Quentin Tarantino produced Pulp Fiction a few years ago, there have been numerous films that have attempted to emulate its distinctive style. Some have succeeded to varying degrees, while others have failed terribly, especially those that have been blatant, wholesale rip-offs. Directors like Tarantino steal ideas too, but they take elements from different sources and skillfully amalgamate them into films that are uniquely their own. Like Tarantino before him, newcomer Guy Ritchie has crafted a film that borrows heavily from many sources. Richie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels definitely has some Tarantino in it, but it also appears to have been inspired by John Woo, Sergio Leone, and Martin Scorsese, among others.

To try and explain the plot of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels would be futile. The story takes place in an economically challenged part of London and is a complex, intertwined tale that comes to a frenetic and incredulous climax. Think of it as On the Buses meets True Romance. Locks features four Cockney mates, a gambling debt, two stolen shotguns, a porn shop owner, his henchman, his hired muscle, two petty thieves, a bunch of dopey drug growers, a gang of ruthless drug dealers, and Sting (though he only has a minor role as the father of one of the four mates). This film is full of colorful characters that are wonderfully portrayed by the entire cast. Vinnie Jones deserves special mention as Big Chris, the muscle hired by pornographer Hatchet Harry to collect on the gambling debt. He and his young son, Little Chris who is played by Peter McNicholl, are memorable as two of the more understated, but somehow off-kilter characters in this preposterous film.

Guy Ritchie, who has both writing and directing credits for this comic, action-adventure, has managed to create a film that is reminiscent of Tarantino, but with a fresh new twist. The interconnected story lines are incredibly intricate, many of the characters are totally outrageous and of course the dialogue is smart and witty, but delivered with a Cockney accent. The use of unique camera angles and ultra-slow motion effects take this style of film making to another level, and a totally kick-ass music soundtrack perfectly compliments the onscreen action.

Although this disc is anamorphically enhanced, the video quality is a little soft, dark, and contrasty. While the cinematography lends itself to a gray look that conveys the feeling of the film's working class setting, there is poor shadow detail and darkly lit scenes become obscured by a preponderance of totally black images. The excellent music soundtrack is well recorded in stereo, but there is not much use of the surround channels. Although extremely intelligible, dialogue is not very well integrated with the rest of the soundtrack and is heavily weighted towards the center channel. The extras on the disc consist of the US and UK theatrical trailers, a production featurette, cast and crew biographies, and a rather superfluous "dictionary" of Cockney slang.

Because this is a must-see film, I will be lending my copy of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels to anyone who has not seen it (which I suspect is just about everyone that I know). Full marks to writer and director Guy Ritchie on his first full-length feature. It is one of 1998's freshest films (and incidentally, one of Doug Schneider's favorites). It is fast, funny, violent, and sometimes gory. And as Big Chris says, "It’s been emotional."


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