Hugely enjoyable, but ultimately lightweight

Rating: 7/10 (22 September 1998)

This is a well-written, well-acted and beautifully shot gangster movie in which Vinnie Jones is as good as everyone says (though playing a menacing thug was not perhaps the greatest test of his acting abilities). However, like most of the other films which constitute the `renaissance' of British cinema (e.g. The Full Monty) this is a thoroughly enjoyable, but ultimately lightweight offering.
The plot revolves around a number of caricatures; we have the ruthless gangland boss (into collecting expensive guns and beating people to death with dildos), the `soft' marijuana-growing public-school boys and a couple of thieving Scousers who would probably be more at home in a Harry Enfield sketch than in the East End, while the heroes are essentially the bunch of bumbling amateur criminals so beloved of the British psyche. Despite the inevitable comparisons to Reservoir Dogs et al, this is a very British film which in general rejects the slick wit of Tarantino to play on its caricatured characters with a mixture of understatement, sarcasm and dark cockney humour, with the occasional slice of slap-stick comedy thrown in for good measure. The plot twists and turns engagingly backed by an excellent soundtrack, and the ending is a relief from standard Hollywood predictability. However, I was surprised to find that a lot of the much-touted violence was more comic than genuinely unnerving which was perhaps a shame  sustaining a more chilling atmosphere to contrast with the laughs would have contributed some depth to this film.
Do go and see Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels- it is fun and well worth the entrance money. But it is as likely to change your perspective on life as Lethal Weapon 4.