Completely ridiculous, but loads of fun

Rating: 7/10 (5 August 2018)

I can totally see why this film has such a great reputation. It's quick-on-its-feet (well, once the first forty minutes or so have passed), violent and also doesn't take itself too seriously. in fact, I'd say this is as much of a comedy as it is a crime drama. The situations the characters get themselves in are pretty absurd, and the whole thing hinges on coincidence and a kind of wild spiralling-out-of-control-of-circumstance taht, although a bit unbelievable, just works for telling this kind of story.
What's more, the script is witty as hell and absolutely bursting with great one-liners and scathing put-downs. I found the cadence of the dialogue to be almost lulling, and all the actors delivered their lines with convictiona nd clarity that I find lacking in some of the US films of similar type. Nevertheless, I think fans of the Breaking Bad TV series might enjoy this, as I found some of the elements to be similar, and, as in taht series, at times I felt like I was watching an episode of The Three Stooges instead of a serious crime flick. That's not meant to be a slag against BB or this movie, but just a reflection of just how absurd these things can get.
And really, I think the absurdity is rather welcome. Crime movies can be such dreary affairs nowadays; I think the levity is appreciated. Also, no police characters, just a bunch of hoods and old-timer crooks with names like "Soap", "Bacon", "Barry the baptist" and "Dog". I can't think of a bad performance here and even Sting, of all people, has a small role and doesn't let the side down (god, I'll never forget him in Dune!).
The music is all extremely well-chosen rock and soul tunes, too, and I dug all of it, especially the james Brown and Stooges. The whole film feels very honest and sincere despite its general silliness, and I enjoyed the hell out of it. I also love the ambiguous ending and am glad taht noone has yet interpreted it as an open interpretation to "hey, let's make a sequel!" Good work, fellas.