Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

"Mind your language in front of the boy!"

"Jesus Christ!"

"That includes blasphemy as well!"

Eddy (Moran), Tom (Flemyng), Soap (Fletcher) and Bacon (Statham) are petty criminals with a big plan.  They gather £100,000 so that Eddy, the card shark, can join a high stakes poker game with "Hatchet" Harry Lonsdale (Moriarty).  The game is rigged and they owe a sizable sum to Lonsdale.  His muscle, Barry "the Baptist" (McLean), gives them a deadline and leaves them incentive to meet it.

Meanwhile, Barry hires two bumbling thieves (Jake Abraham and Victor McGuire) to acquire a set of antique rifles.  And debt collector Big Chris (Jones) is sent to apply the right pressure.  Eddy overhears his neighbor Diamond Dog (Harper) and his goons planning a robbery.  Can Eddy and his friends repay Lonsdale in time, or will they lose everything?


I watched this film based on a recommendation from a friend.  I was pleasantly surprised.  This is director Guy Ritchie's film debut.  Prior to this film he directed music videos and commercials.  In 1995 he wrote and directed The Hard Case, a short film, which got the attention of Trudie Styler and Matthew Vaughn who agreed to produce the film.  Ritchie and Vaughn collaborated a few more times before Vaughn began writing and directing his own films (and both like to collaborate with actors from this film).

This is an impressive debut for Ritchie... and ambitious.  There is a large cast and several story lines that all intersect.  Even little throw away moments are further explained in ways that connect to other parts of the story.  At first it is difficult to keep track of everyone, but Alan Ford provides voice-over narration that introduces the main characters.  It is a dark and violent film, but it also has a healthy does of dry humor.  The film launched the careers of Jason Statham and Vinnie Jones (who was a professional athlete prior to this film).  Lenny McLean was a famous bare knuckle boxer, turned actor.  He died a month before the film's release, and the film is dedicated to him.

This film has been compared to Quentin Tarantino's style, specifically his Reservoir Dogs which premiered in 1992.  I can understand the comparison, but it isn't fair to either Tarantino or Ritchie.  Yes, both made violent films with quick dialogue, highly stylized, and inappropriate humor, but that is where the comparisons end.  This film has a body count of 16, which seems low based on the violence, but the deaths aren't as gruesome / bloody as Tarantino's (which has a body count of around 17, which again seems low).

This film launched Ritchie's film career and introduced most of the cast to American audiences.  It also holds an important place in popular culture, and has been parodied / referenced in numerous films and TV shows since it premiered.

I enjoyed the film and look forward to diving further into Ritchie's filmography.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) 107 minutes
Rating: R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexuality and drug content
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Nick Moran as Eddy
Jason Flemyng as Tom
Dexter Fletcher as Soap
Jason Statham as Bacon
Steven Mackintosh as Winston
Vinnie Jones as Big Chris
Nicholas Rowe as J
Nick Marco as Charles
Charles Forbes as Willie
Lenny McLean as Barry "the Baptist"
Peter McNicholl as Little Chris
P.H. Moriarty as "Hatchet" Harry Lonsdale
Frank Harper as Diamond Dog
Steve Sweeney as Plank
Stephen Marcus as Nick "the Greek"
Alan Ford as Alan / Narrator