Review of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) by Arslan K — 29 Jul 2015
Guy Ritchie really did hit the ground running. His full-length debut is a one-fingered peace sign to conventional filmmaking as well as a riot of ADHD camerawork, so chock-a-block full of deliriously paced sequences that you barely have time to place the popcorn in your mouth.
His tale of a four-member crew whose efforts to cheat a local card shark quickly unravel into a bloody orgy of threats, thieving, and violence is merely an exercise in ramshackle camera-effects and the kind of bloody black comedy only England is capable of.
Ritchie's sepia-drenched style, use of unusual background music and indecipherable slang give the whole film the feel of an altered state of perception, whether it be Eddy's shaky devastation at running up the debt or the various spells of drunkenness, dope trancing or adrenalin rush that smite all characters.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a Molotov cocktail of a movie, and an excellent comedy meandering along despite the lack of anything resembling a real plot.
This review of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) was written by Arslan K on 29 July 2015.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels has generally received very positive reviews.
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