Where to Watch:
8.9/10
FilmFascination Rating
I will be honest. When I started the film, it was a bit slow and I was thinking- ‘Did I choose the wrong film to watch today?’. (Stay with me, because it has obviously now made it to the list of great movies)
The characterization and description of everything were a little dull but I never realized when I got so involved in the story. Four long-time friends ( although you wouldn’t know it by the sarcasm that flies around the room when they start gabbing.) and small-time criminals Eddie (Nick Moran), Tom (Jason Flemyng), Soap (Dexter Fletcher), and Bacon (Jason Statham) put together 100,000 pounds for a high-stakes game with Hatchet Harry, a gambling and porn kingpin.
Eddie, a genius card sharp, plays in this game exclusively for the Big Dogs. But the game is rigged. Harry cheats and in the moment of the game Eddie ends up owing Harry an enormous debt of 500,000 pounds. The four friends have only a week to pay up Harry. On the other hand, Harry’s giant enforcer, Barry the Baptist, played with amazing strength by Lenny McLean, tells that he will start chopping each of their fingers for each day they are late for the payment. And if their fingers get over, he will come for the pub belonging to Eddie’s father.
500,000 pounds is a huge amount to get in a week. So what to do now? Eddy and his mates happen to listen to the next flat criminals (due to thin walls) who are planning to rob a rich drug dealer who is naïve in terms of security. What’s the best thing to do here? Let the neighbors steal from the drug dealer and you steal from the neighbor. And that is what they do too. Meanwhile, Harry hires two thieves, Gary and Dean, to steal two Holland & Holland shotguns from a bankrupt Lord, which are up for auction. One thing leads to another and all the threads of the plot slowly twist together and everything gets connected.
Every character in the film has a style of their own like in a Tarantino film. It also reminded me of the ‘Reservoir Dogs’. ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ brought Guy Ritchie (director) international claim and also introduced actors like Statham to worldwide audiences. So many things are happening at the same time which makes it very exciting to watch the movie. To tell the truth, in the end, I was literally jumping with excitement, to see what is going to happen.
“Lock, Stock . . .” is infused with obtuse camera angles, freeze frames, slo-mo and split screens. I still remember that well-shot drinking scene which does not show much (only some vague images and videos) but it gives you more than a picture of what all must have happened. The soundtrack uses a lot of rock music and narration to flaunt its attitude and acts as a pillar for the freeze frames and slo-mo scenes.
What I like the most about the film is how fun it is to watch it. I got connected with the characters and that probably wouldn’t have been possible without the time they took for characterization. Ritchie also employed several genuine ex-cons, to invest in the film with its menacing undertones. Besides, I don’t remember a single character’s name, except for probably Hatchet Harry. I had to look up for all the other names before writing this review. But I do remember the characters from their faces and their roles. Other than that, I wish everyone just had a name tag with them when many characters came together in a scene.
Apart from characterization, the strength of the film, the area where it truly is rich is the script. You wait and are excited for that next cheap giggle the actors are gonna throw, those bizarre surprises, the delightful inventive patter, the sarcasm of the four blokes, and the British slang which is filled in those places you need them the most. As characters make brutal confrontations on serious things, even their situational dialogues are written in a way that will bring that small giggle from the viewer.
One thing the movie does so well is it completely removes the predictability. Anything can happen. Things we want to happen; might happen or many times aren’t even close to happening.
Favourite Quotes
Soap: A minute ago this was the safest job in the world. Now it’s turning into a bad day in Bosnia.
“Hatchet” Harry: You must be Eddie, J.D.’s son.
Eddie: Yeah. You must be Harry. Sorry, didn’t know your father.
“Hatchet” Harry: Never mind son, you just might meet him if you carry on like that.
Barry the Baptist: Hello son, would you like a lolly?
Little Chris: Piss off, you nonce!
Bacon: What’s that?
Samoan Joe’s Barman: It’s a cocktail. You asked for a cocktail.
Bacon: No. I asked you to give me a refreshing drink. I wasn’t expecting a fucking rainforest! You could fall in love with an orangutan in that!
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