Funny, cool and stylish.

Rating: 8/10 (10 February 2002)

Lock Stock has become a National Treasure. As a British film fan I have never been more thankful for a movie. It certainly ranks up there with Get Carter, Trainspotting et al.
Guy Ritchie has hardly any flaws as a director, and almost none as a sharp, witty gritty screenwriter. Ritchie burst onto the feature film scene after helming some noteable TV adverts and music vids, and he manages to achieve a bizzare mixture of frenetic serenity. Some scenes use quick cuts, editing magic and a thumping theme tunes, while others flow by using close-ups, sweeping camera movements and placid funk and soul writhing in the background.
Some sequences really catch the eye; the opening featuring Jason Statham's famous street salesman speech (partly improvised by Statham, an ex-dodgy goods salesman), and rolling into the getaway using Ocean Colour Scene's '100 Mile High City' as a backdrop. The first sight of Vinnie 'Big Chris' Jones to the menacing funk of James Brown's 'Payback'. Never has a song suited a character so perfectly. And the three card brag sequence, both in wit and in the sheer editing masterclass provided by Ritchie and his editor Niven Howie, is a moment so perfectly cut, tableaud and jumbled that you cannot help but marvel at the sheer cheekiness of the pair.
The cast do their bit. Some hip cameos and sterling lead foursome help the whole thing to raise a notch. Were it not for the presence of Lennie McLean, Vinnie Jones, Sting and Danny John Jules, and the four bickering main actors then this film would have been as poor as the series that became of it. But the four leading men do a fantastic job with the comedy provided by the script. Nick Moran should have made a good career out of his role as Ed, the card shark with a sly tongue, and a quick eye. Jason Statham plays Bacon as a sarcastic rogue. Jason Flemyng is cheeky, adventurous, would be entrepeneur Tom. And Dexter Fletcher gives it his all in his role as clean living, yet slightly unnerving performance as Soap.
But the star of this movie, is the script. Ritchie goes in full throttle on the Cockney dialect and sheer flamboyance of the dialogue. The use of accent from the cockney contingent is complemented well by scousers Gary and Barry. Ritchie throws the camera around with glee, adds a catchy, populist soundtrack and lets the dirty and flirty gangsters of London banter away.
One of the most qoutable movies in recent history, and rightly so. Every character has their scene, and Ritchie never leaves the camera standing. Fantastic, graceful, indulgent, emphatic, whatever you want to call 'Lock, Stock', just make sure you appreciate how cool it is.