Humorous and stylish British gangster flick

Rating: 8/10 (18 July 2004)

I haven't seen Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which makes this the first Guy Ritchie film I've seen, and the only one I've seen so far. I had heard plenty of good things about this film, and I do believe that I've seen some of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels(though that didn't impress me much, actually), and after seeing some advertisements for this, I was looking forward to seeing it. I must say, it did meet my expectations, though it didn't exceed them. The plot is great, very interesting and constantly developing. It also has a good pace, you're never bored, which can also be attributed to the many quick cuts and great editing. The acting is great, I really enjoyed Brad Pitt and Vinnie Jones, not to mention Jason Statham, though they were all great, I think. The characters were diverse, well-written and credible, not to mention quite entertaining, though at times they became a little lame, in obvious attempts at humor. The action is great, though there is fairly little of it; it's mostly sacrificed for the sake of more humor. Don't get me wrong, the humor is mostly good too, but sometimes it just seems like there is too little action in it, though, when there is action, it's good. The camera work and overall filming style is, well, stylish, and looks very cool. I liked the use of slow-motion, fast-motion and instantly changing angles, not to mention the well-placed quick cuts. The way the diamond constantly changed hands in the film was great, though a fairly basic way to keep the plot going. I liked all of the things that didn't have anything to do with the diamond, like the gypsies and the boxing, but I did think the plot revolved a little too much around the diamond. All in all, a very entertaining film, that couldn't have been much better or much more professionally made, but was lacking a little. I recommend it to fans of British/violent humor, and fans of the actors. I guess people who liked Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels will enjoy this too, though I can't say for sure, as I haven't seen it. 8/10