This month I watched Guy Richie's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, a British crime thriller with a massive cast and an incredibly complicated plot. To explain it in brief, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is about a group of four friends who blow all their money on a high stakes poker game and then scramble to pay off their debt to a vicious psychopath. Note that this description hardly does this movie justice.
I am not overstating when I say that this movie was incredible. There was a huge cast of characters, but everyone played their necessary part- fitting into the plot like a puzzle piece. At its heart Lock is a heist movie. But unlike other heist films, where the first half is the team being assembled and the second half is the actual heist, this movie is a series of heists: it's basically two hours of watching one group of criminals rip off another and then a third group rips them off and so on and so forth.
Like the rest of Guy Richie's work, this movie doesn't take itself too seriously. This silly streak takes things to the point whereLock can arguably be called a black comedy. There are many scenes that are funny due to the absurdity of the situation, while others feature hilarious wordplay.
Cinematically, this Lock is no slouch either. The viewer is treated to all kinds of funky angles and perspective shots as the action unfolds, sometimes even serving as a joke in its own subtle way.
I could go on and on gushing about this movie, but I don't want to give away any key details or spoil anything. If you enjoyed Snatch or In Bruges you will absolutely enjoy Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Check it out!