Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1999)
89%RT Audience Score: 93%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 BAFTA Film Award
13 wins & 9 nominations total
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is a grimy, twisted, and funny twist on the Tarantino hip gangster formula
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” is a wild ride through the seedy underbelly of London’s East End. With a cast of characters that could fill a small village, this caper is a non-stop thrill ride that will leave you breathless. Guy Ritchie’s debut feature is a masterclass in storytelling, with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. And let’s not forget the humor – it’s as rude and crude as the characters themselves. So buckle up, grab some popcorn, and get ready for a movie that’s as dense and impenetrable as it is entertaining.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Gramercy Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
St John Street, London, Greater London, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexuality and drug content
Year of Release
1998
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 45m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 5, 1998 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2008
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Nick Moran, Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Jason Statham, Steven Mackintosh, Vinnie Jones, P.H Moriarty, Sting, directed by Guy Ritchie, written by Guy Ritchie, produced by Matthew Vaughn, comedy, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Lisa Kennedy, Rex Reed, Joe Morgenstern, David Ansen, Andrew Sarris, Geoff Andrew, David Nusair, Rob Harvilla, CSM Staff, PJ Nabarro, Jeffrey M Anderson, Bill Gibron, MPAA rating R, crime, heist, gangster, London, poker, debt, robbery, drug dealers, violence, sexuality, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Dolby SR, Flat (1.85:1)
Worldwide gross: $3,753,929
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $6,888,989
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,078
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 751,253
US/Canada gross: $3,753,929
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $6,888,989
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,716
US/Canada opening weekend: $143,321
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $263,014
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,578
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): £960,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Dexter Fletcher – Soap
Nick Moran – Eddie
Jason Statham – Bacon
Steven Mackintosh – Winston
Vinnie Jones – Big Chris
Director(s)
Guy Ritchie
Writer(s)
Guy Ritchie
Producer(s)
Matthew Vaughn
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 BAFTA Film Award
13 wins & 9 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (67) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (17)
What ensues is an ultimatum; a clumsy caper with so many characters they’d overwhelm a lesser movie; and a tremendous amount of mayhem that, while putting our boys squarely in the line of fire, really does stay aggressively this side of funny.
May 25, 2022
Lisa Kennedy
Out Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It roars and ignites and hits the ground running.
March 21, 2019
Rex Reed
Observer
TOP CRITIC
A n inverse cost-to-quality ratio seems to have been operating in “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” Guy Ritchie’s debut feature about four cocky young men coming up against major thugs in London’s East End.
April 4, 2018
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
TOP CRITIC
Once you sort out the main characters and the plot kicks into action, it becomes clear that under the shameless MTV pyrotechnics lies a structure as intricately crafted as a Feydeau farce. Guy Ritchie has a giddy gift for storytelling.
August 18, 2008
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
I was thoroughly entertained while I was watching it, and I haven’t hated myself since. And that is something, though I don’t know exactly what.
April 27, 2007
Andrew Sarris
Observer
TOP CRITIC
Expect plenty of laughs and some edge-of-your-seat sweats, but not a whole lot else.
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
…dense, impenetrable…
December 30, 2021 | Rating: 1/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Guy Ritchie’s scrappy, twisty, cheerfully ultraviolent tale of hapless small-time English hoodlums might be his best work.
March 26, 2019
Rob Harvilla
The Ringer
The humor is as rude and crude as the characters, but the picture certainly isn’t lacking in energy.
March 21, 2019 | Rating: 2/4
CSM Staff
Christian Science Monitor
There are far too many tokenistic soundtrack and cinematographic throws of the dice
February 4, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro
Fast-paced romp has violence, gangsters, drugs.
June 14, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Common Sense Media
What his other movies have done summarily or languidly, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels does with some clear novice stumbles. It’s creative and very clever. It’s just not a classic.
December 3, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/5
Bill Gibron
PopMatters…
Plot
Four Jack-the-lads find themselves heavily – seriously heavily – in debt to an East End hard man and his enforcers after a crooked card game. Overhearing their neighbours in the next flat plotting to hold up a group of out-of-their-depth drug growers, our heroes decide to stitch up the robbers in turn. In a way the confusion really starts when a pair of antique double-barrelled shotguns go missing in a completely different scam.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
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