Lock, Stock and 105 Hilarious Minutes...

Rating: 10/10 (25 July 2005)

"Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" was probably the last movie in Blockbuster I had not seen when I rented it several years ago. The summary on the back of the VHS-cassette didn't seem appealing at all. A British gangster comedy? Yeah right. But man was I surprised.
The movie starts of by introducing the very charismatic characters involved. The good guys are the four semi-criminals Tom (Jason Flemyng), Soap (Dexter Fletcher), Eddie (Nick Moran) and Bacon (Jason Statham). Within fifteen minutes of the movie, these guys loose half a million pounds to the local porn king and hardcore cold blooded gangster, "Hatchet" Harry Lonsdale, in a game of cards. Our friends are given one week to come up with the cash before Harry passes the case to his inpatient and extremely unpleasant gorilla known as Barry the Baptist. Fortunatley for the boys, Eddie overhears his full time criminal neighbors planning a "job" that involves serious amounts of hard currency and a large pile of class A weed. With a few preparations the goods can easily be intercepted and more than cover their dept to "Hatchet" Harry. The scene is set.
Long story short, the boys intercept the prey but afterward find themselves in the middle of a complicated plot that involves two very valuable antique shotguns, a big load of cash and humorous and charismatic characters as the back alley businessman Nick the Greek, the black suited afro midget Rory Breaker, the tough employee of Harry Lonsdale, Big Chris, and his beloved son Little Chris.
This is probably the most entertaining movie I ever saw. Every line is a stitch, all characters are balanced and perfectly casted and the way our four main characters pretends to be what they are not, bad ass criminals, is so hilarious that nothing compares. I especially recall a small, but fun, scene where Eddie has trouble opening a locked door with a crowbar. I can watch this movie over and over again and laugh of the same lines, the same scenes and the same pitch black humor of this magnificent British blend of comedy, action and colorful language every time I see it. As if this wasn't enough, the movie also has a fantastic soundtrack.
If "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" doesn't deserve a 10/10, no movie does. I realize that this is no great epic with big stars, fantastic sets and huge budgets, but it is still an excellent movie that does so much more than anyone could expect from it. Nothing less. And what an ending scene.
So, in short, definitely a 10/10. Watch it.