# Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

### reviewed by
Kleszczewski, Nicholas

    Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

    One word.  Whoa.

Out of England comes perhaps the most visually exciting and fresh film in the Tarantino ouvre, except it is hardly a copycat. Within it's two hours come some of the most fresh characters, intriguing plot twists, and mesmerizing photography. The soundtrack's cool too.

If there are problems with the film, it's that the story can appear more confusing than it has any right to be. There are no less than twenty significant characters in the film, and them cockney accents don't help. Any detailed synopsis of the story will help. And I'm tempted to not give it, to have the viewer discover it for themselves. But give it I shall, dummied-down:

There are five groups of individuals, plus two knuckleheads and Sting. Group A consists of four friends who pool their money into a high stakes poker game. They lose. They owe a heck-of-a-lot-of-money to Group B. (Group B consists of a local porn king, and two enforcers who collect the money or else). Group A, fearing for their lives, accidentally overhear of a plan from Group C (robbers) to steal from Group D (marijuana growers). They conspire to surprise Group C after the holdup, take the money, and repay group B. They succeed. Group E, (Rastafarian dudes whom Group D rely on for protection) wants revenge.

Now: add a significant subplot involving the two knuckleheads hired to steal two priceless antique guns, and you have the film. It is a given that at one point, it appears that these two smoking barrels will pass hands to nearly every character.

What _Lock Stock_ loses in the American translation, it more than gains in visual style, witty characterizations, great dialogue, unique camera setups, and all-around coolness. I was fortunate to catch this without seeing any commercial for it, and didn't expect the camera to fill me with exhilaration the way it did. Every move is carefully mapped, carefully thought out, for maximum viewing enjoyment.

So many memorable scenes! When the boys first walk into a specialty bar, only to be greeted by a man set on fire. The dazed camerawork in the poker sequence. The drugged out girl. And my favorite: the face-off between an uzi and a b-b gun (guess which holds its own for a while).

A lot of films have been compared to _Pulp Fiction_ throughout the years, but this is the only film that truly deserves the compliment. And it deservedly won the British Oscar for Best Picture last year.

One more thing: the very final scene will stick to your head like no other recent film. Genius.

    Nick Scale (1 to 10): 10

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