ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

ariwebbkatanos I was finally introduced to this film in March of this year by a friend, alongside it's successor film, Snatch. Since then I've viewed the film a total of three times, and I've finally come to point of being able to a compile a critical review. I've taken time to handle it properly, as this is understandably a cult classic and has warranted a lot of good reviews.I believe that Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a charming movie that achieves a lot despite it's low budget. It contains standout performances and creative cinematography at times, but holds it's failings in both of those departments as well. The movies' strongest attributes are it's tone, plot and pacing, and doesn't actually contain too many issues aside from sound design and one or two plot holes. Overall, I think Lock, Stock is one of the best British comedies I've seen in a while.There are numerous other little issues I also took up with the film, but a great deal of them owed largely to the films low budget. On that note, a lot of the effects and visuals that would disappoint on a higher budget actually work impressively considering the films constraints on money. Considering the debatable aspects surrounding criticizing budgeted effects, I'll opt to leave those criticisms out of my review.Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was produced in 1998 but largely defies time period in it's cinematography and design. It's rustic color palette and noticeable film grain place it more often in the era of the 1970s. But Cinematography in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in general is a hit and miss. The film contains some amazing sequences, especially during action scenes and the infamous card game which sets off the entire plot. This is excellent, as the parts of the movie that seriously matter are almost all given a good level of film quality, but the same cannot be said for the scenes in between. Conversations between characters, especially those with shots that go back and forth are at best unoriginal and at worst so awkward that they can detract from the largely superb writing. And with dialogue being a supreme feature in this film (might I mention since it is especially lacking in visual storytelling), not having the cinematographic quality to go hand it hand with the quips often leaves me wanting.Speaking of dialogue, the films plot and script are the greatest aspect it has to offer. At no point in the film does the consistent back and forth between the ensemble cast end or lose it's magic. It's no surprise that the film is ranked as one of the most quotable films to come out of Britain's comedy market. The plot, for the most part, is an easy to understand but still complex web of connecting lines bringing the entire set of characters together through a special and sometimes dubious set of circumstances. It's a rather fun joy ride to sit through and track even through multiple viewings, and even by my third viewing, there were small details in both dialogue and occasionally visual cues that I missed out on. The film also doesn't hold the viewers hand too much, despite an admittedly helpful narration, and plot points that can confound first time viewers are always smoothly resolved by the end of the film. The characters themselves are unique and often relatable, despite being brought down by amateur acting skills at times. They're written with a decent degree of complexity and some little details I only noticed, once again, in re-watches.But on the note of characters and their actors, the acting in this film is much like cinematography as it quite often hits and misses, but on a much more prevalent scale than the former. While the film no doubt contains some all star performances, it is quite often brought down by stale delivery by unemotional actors as well. Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones and Steve Mackintosh all add to the film with great performances, and give the movie a good backbone despite the lacking work from actors with more screen time like Nick Moran and Lenny McLean. Overall the bad performances in the film are largely put in the shade by the aforementioned writing skills of Guy Ritchie. I'm not an expert of music so I haven't take the time to check out the movies soundtrack but nonetheless it is certainly well put together. I found that they were very suitable for the movies subject matter and blended well with the overall finished product. This, however, was brought down by the small issue of sound design in weapons and environments.Some of the other things I enjoyed before concluding: The pace is great, lighting is great and visual effects are notably decent for what they were. One more thing I didn't enjoy is the occasional plot points scattered about, but none are serious enough to hurt my rating.In summary, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is an entertaining crime comedy that accomplishes quite a lot despite it's budget. While it is damaged by acting, cinematography, sound design and plot holes, none of these things are significant enough to damage the overall experience too much. Through multiple watches I found that there was things that I only noticed later on, along with the fact that the comedy still holds strong no matter how many times you ingest the quips. Watch out for my review of Snatch, coming soon. I'm happy leaving the movie with an 8/10.

sir-mauri Bacon, Soap and the guys have a plan. All 4 will put up 25K for a 100k high stakes poker game and make it rich, split the winnings. When Harry, cheats in the game the gang finds themselves oweing him half a million. Their neighbors are crooks and going to knock off some drug dealers. The gang decides they will rob the bad guys to get the money to pay Harry. Seems like a simple plan, and then things start to go wrong. A really good movie. One of Stathem's earlier flicks in which he actually doesn't fight. The movie starts out with 4 story lines that seem separate but then are all interlinked come the movie's end. It has some comedic moments mixed in too. The best part is the ending. It is kind of a choose your own adventure ending where they leave you just enough to decide how you want it to end of the gang. If you have not seen it and you enjoy Pulp Fiction type movies you will enjoy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

John Brooks I'm no Guy Ritchie supporter or anything and therefor in reviewing this film I remain more objective than some might be. This here is a heavily English action-comedy, I emphasize its country of origin as some might be too foreign to its cultural tinge and should be mindful of that during its viewing. Slang, talking speed, the attitudes overall...it's definitely different, and this film wasn't made to be a polished flavorless ready-to-sell-internationally item. It's authentic, rough in places but never too much and showcases an effortless (and surprising ?) balance of humor and comedy, along with hard-hitting, raw action. Its main plot is uber simple, but that's totally fine. In fact, it makes it better. Because now the movie has its trigger and the movie-makers can focus on all the rest: the little subplots, the humor, involving other characters and parties to the core of the story, before unleashing an ultimate climax at the end that is, again, very simple, almost too simple; and yet, at the risk of sounding over-complacent, it works - fits that story and mood perfectly. No reason film shouldn't be this way from time to time. Yeah it's simple, but it's effective, lots of fun, runs so smoothly and where it isn't deep and what not, it's highly entertaining, and you can't just make 'highly entertaining' if you don't know movie making.

Phil K A great film depicting a London Underground crime scene; money, drugs, and two sought after barrels.The movie is shot through interwoven stories of different operations in action beneath the legality of the city. At first you wonder how all of these characters could possibly relate to the main story, but trust me, they do, and it is a blast.A midst thievery, debauchery and bloodshed the movie delivers style, comedy, charm and it even manages to fit in an upbeat message along with it. Karma is mentioned cleverly in the film, but I'll allow the viewer to piece it all together as they watch.Pay attention though, this movie delivers just enough information to keep the plot straight!