A "Barrel" of monkeys is preferred...

Rating: Null/10 (21 March 1999)

`Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels' Guy Ritchie's debut film is perfect for people who don't see many movies, or are incredibly jaded about the current non-originality of 1999 Hollywood. But I see too many films, and I crave clichés.
You could say that this film was simply not for me. When people bring up a Quentin Tarantino influence to gangster films, I cringe and feel sick to my stomach. It's a lazy way to summarize the current crime genre, and it doesn't do many of the films justice. `Lock, Stock' goes one further by actually delivering solid proof that it steals from Tarantino. The filmmakers might call it a `homage', but this isn't Neptune. Most of us can see right through that. I was dismayed at the film's attempt at coolness. With boring camerawork and a stillborn soundtrack, this film is a good example of what first time filmmakers should not do. Ritchie plays by all the rules. His cast is an eclectic group of Londoners, none of which you can remember when the lights go up. It's story is a rather predictable mix of double-crosses and botched shootouts, and I applaud (sarcastically) on the director's use of what seemed like 32 endings. To consider this original work is insanity. `Lock, Stock' thrills a lot of people, from what I've read. I am hard pressed to fully understand why.-------------- 1