Four Silly Prats,One Silly Plot

Rating: Null/10 (16 February 2002)

Okay,Lock,Stock is a worshipped film world-wide,but why?I'll tell you why,it was the first to mix violence with outrageous humour and took the public by suprise.
Guy Ritchie made this vastly controversial film just four years ago,and it looks fit to stand the test of time.Although Ritchie's next film,Snatch,was much better in my opinion,Lock,Stock is still sheer brilliance.
Now for the story:(A bit of a SPOILER here,skip the paragraph if you don't want to know too much plot)The movie revolves around budding criminal and sly card player,Eddie(Nick Moran),and his mates:Tom(Jason Flemyng)the wheeler and dealer,the nervous cook Soap(Dexter Fletcher),and the light-hearted illegal-merchandise expert Bacon(Jason Statham,who also stars in Snatch and The One)Eddie loses all his money on a rigged card game against porn king Hatchet Harry(H.P Moriaty)who happens to have two of the deadliest hitmen in film history working for him,Barry the Baptist and Big Chris(Lenny McLean and Vinnie Jones)Eddie won't go down without a fight and plans to rob his cheery next door neighbours Dog and Plank(Frank Harper and Steve Sweeney)of their "weed" that they steal off stoned drug baron Winston(Steve McKintosh)However,the bumbling salesman Nick(Stephen Marcus)tries to sell it to the bloke who planned to buy it off Winston,insane black man Rory Breaker(Vas Blackwood),and starts a violent gang war.The story is far more complex,but you get the idea.
The atmosphere is great,as is the acting.Dexter Fletcher's character Soap grows steadily more nervous as the film goes on and is very comical to watch,Jason Statham is the fool of the group,a role that suits him well,H.P Moriaty is superb as the menacing Hatchet Harry,Vinnie Jones plays a simple gangster part to the fullest,and rock-star Sting puts in a good,if not too memorable,performance,as Eddie's dad.
All in all a great movie that will be a cinema classic,and guarantees Guy Ritchie's name in the film hall of fame.