Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels


There’s some strange things on Netflix right now. Disney’s catalogue seems to have reappeared (or at least recent stuff like The Force Awakens, Toy Story 3, etc…) but I thought Disney had yanked its films from all the streaming sites in preparation for launching its own service. Maybe they gave up?

Anyway, I watched Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the film that launched the film career of Vinny Jones, that unexpectedly catapulted Jason Statham into stardom rather than Nick Moran, and also was the start of a tidal wave of Mockery Brit geezer comedy, which burnt out in a flash by the time the Fast Show presented A Right Royal Barrel of Cockney Monkeys.

Has it aged well? The tidy ourobourus of the plot continues to satisfy. The horrible brown patina of the colour palette, less so. The casual violence for laughs is more troubling in hindsight. Is a man who punches everyone he meets, man, woman or child a statement of equality or just a monster?

There’s a lot of swearing, but it doesn’t feel very organic. It’s more just like the script was sown with f-words here and there to make it seem edgy, or impress teenagers. Now when I watch it, I like the plot but the swearing comes as something of a distraction. Will I ever be pleased?

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One response to “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”

  1. EEzza FAKIN LIE A BILL ITTY !!!! Watched it again a few years ago, still holds up well – one of the better gangster comedy ridiculous co-incidence capers. Whatever you do don’t watch Ritchie’s King Arthur though – that was abysmal.

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