Having seen a couple other Guy Ritchie films in the past, I knew what I was getting into here. This is a title I've known for many, many years... but one I'd just never seen. Finally, however, that ghastly oversight has been fixed. And strangely, it transitions well from the previous film. This film takes on multiple stories. There's Tom (Jason Flemyng), Soap (Dexter Fletcher), Eddy (Nick Moran), and Bacon (Jason Statham), all of whom lose a high stakes card game to sex club owner Harry (P.H. Moriarty). They have a week to get half a million pounds or else they start losing some fingers. Meanwhile, Harry gets his right-hand man Barry the Baptist (Lenny McLean) to hire a couple idiots (don't remember their names, sorry) to steal some antique shotguns which end up getting sold to Nick the Greek (Stephen Marcus) on accident, as he's looking for guns for the original 4 guys, as they're planning on stealing money and drugs from another set of guys to get the money they owe to Harry. Also involved is Big Chris (Vinnie Jones), a bit of muscle hired by Harry for various reason.There's probably even more I'm leaving out, but I'd learned from Snatch. how involved and confusing Ritchie's plots could get. (That's not a complaint, though.) If I did have a complaint, it was that I did get confused frequently at the beginning... maybe up through the card game. I was having a hard time following along with who was who and what was going on. There were so many characters and scenarios being thrown at you at once that it was just a wee bit tough keeping track. But I started to manage after a while.
The acting was great and the characters were a lot of fun. My favorite was probably Vinnie Jones' Big Chris. He's essentially a hitman who takes his son around with him and is always polite and patient. The dialogue was fun, too. Sometimes it was hard to follow, but I stayed with it for the most part.
I do really enjoy these types of stories. It isn't exactly an anthology, despite it being a collection of multiple, interweaving stories. It's similar to Pulp Fiction where just a bunch of random stuff is happening to different characters, but they all affect each other (here much more than Pulp Fiction). Really, when you break it down... all it is is that four guys owe money to a dangerous man, another set of guys need to sell some weed, and the aforementioned dangerous man wants a pair of antique guns. But when you mix all of those together, chaos ensues.
I found it an interesting directorial choice to have those kind of grayish tones and shadows throughout the whole film. It gave the whole thing a kind of wet, gritty, grimy feel to it with just the color. Otherwise, I don't have a hell of a whole lot to say about the movie. I need to rewatch Snatch. now that I know what I'm getting into (that one was my first, and I was really left like WTF afterwards). Right now I like this one a little better. I watched it last night and thought on it, and the more I think about it, the more I think I like it. So before I get on rambling too much, I'll just go ahead and stop here.
A Keanu 'Whoa'
Not sure if I commented on it before, but I love how 3/4 of your 'foreign' movies are in English. Hmmmm...cop out some?
ReplyDeleteFigured this was up your alley - what's not to like? I saw this first but prefer Snatch by a few hairs. It's essentially the same movie, but with a better cast, better production values, and a better soundtrack.
Even if you didn't comment on it before, I know I did. When I first released the list, I mentioned that myself (the 'foreign' thing). I'm gonna try to toss in a few Extras that are actually not British, though.
ReplyDeleteI actually like the idea and characters of Snatch better, which is why I said I need to re-watch it. The first time I reviewed it, I gave it a so-so rating. But I think it'll increase quite a bit upon a second viewing.
This is one of my all time favourite films. As for the Snatch vs. Lock Stock argument, I can see the points on both sides.
ReplyDeleteSnatch has Ritchie's two best characters: Mickie (Brad Pitt) and Brick Top. It also does have better production values.
However, I've got to disagree with Fletch - although the cast is more famous in Snatch, I actually think the characters are more convincing in Lock Stock. I also think the writing is better, the coincidences/cross over's are a little less gimmicky or ridiculous, and I think I prefer the Lock Stock soundtrack...although just barely.