Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a low-brow British comedy of errors – a moderately amusing heist film with so many crooks sticking their fingers (and gun muzzles) into each others’ business that I had to sort out who was who in order to figure out what was what. (There are roughly three crime kingpins, three enforcers, and three gangs of four – plus two idiots and assorted henchmen – all working at cross purposes to each other.) As Jason Statham’s first on-screen appearance, it is an ensemble cast, so he barely stands out. Everyone, in fact, plays their roles quite well and the plot does not lag much. I was just frankly confused at times about what was going on, trying to keep each East End bloke or thug separate from the next in my head. Like me, you will probably be glad you watched it – it has received a lot of buzz, so I wanted to see it – and I am happy I did. I even enjoyed it better than Quadrophenia, which is another low-brow British film about young toughs (“greasers” and “mods”) to which I could relate even less. 3.5 stars. (4-6-2016)