Hilarious, for the right audience.

Rating: 8/10 (6 September 2007)

I like this film a lot, but it is REEally not for everybody. Firstly, it will help non-English viewers if they watch a lot of BBC America, because the accents are a bit thick. There's even a scene in which a lot of Cockney rhyming slang is flying around which sometimes is broadcast with subtitles...and it needs them! Secondly, there's a fair amount of violence in "Lock, Stock,"... and even though some is humorous, it's decidedly black humor. The scene toward the end where you might say "everybody gets his" could be used in a horror film, if it weren't for the ridiculous circumstances which brought the participants together. Guy Ritchie did a masterful job of relieving tension almost as it was being created, without spoiling either the tension or the laughs. The casting of this film is a fine example of getting a good portrayal of a tough guy by hiring a genuinely tough man to play him. Vinnie Jones, P.H. Moriarty, and the late, great Lenny McLean all had real hard-man credibility established before they started acting, and it brought a reality to their work which is hard to get. Sting's work in a small role is perfect, by the way; he should act more. To sum up: pour a Guinness and enjoy L,S, & 2 S.B. -- it is great.