By Bret Polish, 14, Cleveland High School

“Wth madcap situations, ironic twists of fate and bizarre coincidences, “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels” is definitely a very British comedy. It is a comedy along the lines of American films like “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction”—dark, brutal, and often hilarious.
First-time writer-director Guy Ritchie’s film is best enjoyed by overlooking the script’s weaker aspects (like the film’s outrageously contrived conclusion which ties together all the loose ends and wraps them up all too neatly) and focusing on the cleverly profane quips and juicy one-liners. The film is about a trio of twentysomething small-time hoods (played by Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, and Jason Statham) who decide to invest their ill-gotten gains in the poker skills of their friend and partner-in-crime Eddie (played by Nick Moran), an amiable, if somewhat naive, con man. Armed with a duffle bag of loot, Eddie joins several bigwigs in a high stakes poker game taking place in an empty boxing ring. He is soon out-foxed by one of the players, local mafioso and smut dealer Hatchet Harry (P.H. Moriarty). Now in debt to Harry and having only one week to pay up, Eddie and his friends devise an ingenious scheme to pay back the 500,000 pounds (approximately 800,000 U.S. dollars) they owe and make a little extra cash in the process. That’s only the basic premise. One of the pleasures in watching this serpentine film lies in the deliriously unpredictable plot, which offers a new surprise every few minutes and successfully balances subplots and flashbacks, along with the main story.
Ritchie’s jazzy visual technique seems to have been inspired by the colorful, stylish gloss of American music videos and commercials. He employs the use of slow motion, fast forwarding, freeze frames, close-ups, steadicam shots, and bizarre camera angles to give the film a refreshingly original, hip look. However, a little bit goes a long way, and after a while the director’s trenchant enthusiasm for his material as well as the film’s visual pizazz begins to get on your nerves.
The acting is competent, nothing more. The characters are deliberately one-dimensional and are meant to serve the plot, not the other way around. However, despite the lack of convincing characters, the performances and actors were engaging enough to hold my interest and cause me to care about them and their plight. The actors all have this ingratiating quality that might just help them to one day hit it big in Hollywood.
Although “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels” may not be as thematically rich as the films of Quentin Tarantino, it is a fast, fun, and most of all entertaining diversion, well worth the eight dollars and two hours of your time.”