Lively and influential

Rating: 7/10 (17 August 2016)

A complex, ultra-black comedy packed with violence and profanity, this is one of the best films to come out of Britain in recent years. Ignore the seriousness of other thrillers like FACE, and instead concentrate on the hilarious dialogue and fun characters which this film is full of. From 'Hatchet Harry' to 'Barry the Baptist', this film has an endless parade of clichéd villains who are an absolute delight to watch, not least Vinnie Jones' hard debt collector who enjoys slamming people's heads in a variety of doors.
There's an obvious influence here from Tarantino's work, but the two directorial styles are very different. Director Guy Ritchie has some weird, trippy moments in this film, to counteract the smoothness of other scenes. The comedy comes from the increasingly confused situation in the film, and is consistently funny. The acting is all pretty good, with top marks going to Dexter Fletcher ("Guns for show, knives for a pro"). The violence is frequent but never done in a serious matter; there are loads of shoot-outs and bodies everywhere, but they're not to be taken seriously. Basically, this film is perfectly done and one of the liveliest London gangster films ever made. See it!