Click to read the article
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:49
Fresh:35
Rotten:14
Average Rating:6.7/10
Runtime: 2 hrs
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: A brutally comic tale about a group of London friends who find themselves deep in debt to an East End tough, LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS is quick-paced, stylized, and highly entertaining.... A brutally comic tale about a group of London friends who find themselves deep in debt to an East End tough, LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS is quick-paced, stylized, and highly entertaining. In his debut feature film, director-writer Guy Ritchie weaves a tangled web of shady, blithely eccentric characters and several storylines, all of them coming together in a gleeful explosion of murder and mayhem. When streetwise charmer Eddy (Nick Moran), the son of steely bar owner JD (Sting), botches a gambling scheme with his dad's nemesis, porn king Hatchet Harry (P.H. Moriarty), he's got one week to come up with 500,000 pounds or he loses his fingers--and so do his friends Tom (Jason Flemyng), Bacon (Jason Statham), and Soap (Dexter Fletcher). While the pals scheme to make the money, Harry indulges his penchant for valuable antique shot guns, stolen for him by a couple of inept burglars. Soon the missing guns, a paranoid group of marajuana growers, a mean-spirited debt collector (Vinnie Jones) and his young son, and a violent bunch of thugs, are all thrown together in this tightly-woven, genuinely funny story that takes its inspiration from old British comic gangster flicks like THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN and more recent films like RESERVOIR DOGS and THE USUAL SUSPECTS. [More]
Starring: Jason Flemyng, Jason Statham, Dexter Fletcher, Vinnie Jones
Starring: Jason Flemyng, Jason Statham, Dexter Fletcher, Vinnie Jones, Nick Moran, Steven Mackintosh, Sting
Director: Guy Ritchie
Director: Guy Ritchie
Screenwriter: Guy Ritchie
Producer: Matthew Vaughn
Composer: David Hughes, John Murphy
Reviews for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
You'll laugh out loud, and in the end you'll be cheering for the good guys, if you can figure out who they are and what language they're speaking.
The slickly streetwise dialogue, atmospherically seedy UK underworld locations and the posse of hip, handsome male leads all contribute to the wild 'n' woolly high-energy entertainment.
Even if flashy Ritchie's tall tale about the East End underworld starts to run out of steam, the punch line is so good that it makes up for a lot.
The best film since Pulp Fiction in which there are no really good guys.
A very funny, very violent and altogether wonderful British crime caper that could have been made by Tarantino's cockney cousin, if he had one.
This may be the first movie to capture the reckless exuberance of Pulp Fiction without seeming like a blatant rip-off.
The punchy little flourishes that load this English gangster film with attitude are perfectly welcome, because there's no honest, substantial part of the movie they can hurt.
Even when the violence gets out of control, as bad as 'a bad day in Bosnia,' there’s an underlying level of wit and humor.
Unlike Tarantino movies, this film wasn't peppered with pop references all over the place, but it did lace itself with a fine overtone of comedy and irony.
What starts out as a hodgepodge of Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting and Reservoir Dogs slowly becomes as enjoyable and visually stylish as the films from which Lock, Stock draws its comparisons.
Fans of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown are in for a treat.
The film's lures, while undeniable, are synthetic, and we never do learn what fuels all the greed besides pints of beer.
Latest News for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
September 26, 2008:
RT Interview: Jason Statham Chats Death Race, Crank 2 and The Sweeney
RT catches up with Jason Statham to learn more about the Death Race and grill him on upcoming turns in Crank 2, Transporter 3 and the possibility of an appearance in Nick Love's... More...
September 05, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: Rocknrolla Rocks, Disaster Movie = Movie Disaster
It's not a vintage week for releases this week, but it's nevertheless encouraging to see the two big British releases getting their fair share of plaudits. Guy Ritchie returns... More...
July 27, 2007:
Guy Ritchie to Adapt His Own Gamekeeper for WB
You may know Guy Ritchie from movies like "Lock, Stock" and "Snatch," but he also co-wrote a comic book called "Gamekeeper" -- which is about to be made into a movie by Warner... More...
March 22, 2007:
RT-UK Exclusive: Edit Suite Report and New Pics for "Stardust"
In an otherwise unremarkable office building in London's trendy Soho, the clichés are out in force; magic is being made, fantasies are coming to life and dreams are being... More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels at Rotten Tomatoes
- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels at IGN
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

