7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.6 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Streetwise charmer Eddie enters the biggest card game of his life with the savings of his three best friends: Tom, Bacon and Soap. But he leaves the table owing his underworld boss Hatchet Harry half a million and has a week to come up with the money. Now Eddie and his friends must outsmart and outgun all types of lowlifes on their way to pay off Harry before time runs out.
Starring: Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Nicholas RoweCrime | 100% |
Dark humor | 60% |
Thriller | 39% |
Heist | 33% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, German, Spanish, Dutch
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
D-Box
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Before Swept Away, Revolver, and a soul-sapping relationship with Madonna left fans and critics wondering if acclaimed British filmmaker Guy Ritchie had gone mad; before Snatch briefly granted him access to Hollywood's inner sanctum and Brad Pitt's heart (arguably one and the same); and long before RocknRolla signaled his welcome return to his cinematic roots, there was Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Like Quentin Tarantino did with Reservoir Dogs some six years earlier, Ritchie designed his first feature to shatter expectations and challenge genre convention, leaning on sharp, double-edged dialogue and increasingly complex conflict to test his enterprising misfits' acid-tongued mettle. While the resulting film is a bit more superficial than substantial -- and, in retrospect, isn't quite the revelation it was ten years ago -- it's difficult to deny its lasting appeal. Ritchie not only succeeded as a filmmaker, nabbing accolades and awards, his debut rightfully won him the devotion of cinephiles the world over.
Lock and load, boys... lock and load.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels has never been an attractive film -- part of its charm lies in the grit and grime of its sepia-toned, neo-noir visuals -- but Universal's 1080p/VC-1 transfer is an unrepentant mess. Yes, compared to its decidedly dated DVD counterpart, colors are more stable and vibrant, black levels are much deeper, and detail is more refined and revealing. Unfortunately, overzealous artificial sharpening results in a number of issues. Frequent aliasing, ringing, serrated edges, and aggressive bursts of razor-sharp grain undermine the integrity of the transfer, cursing the presentation with an unnatural, digitized haze that robs the image of what could presumably be a convincing filmic appearance. It doesn't help that smudged textures and softness are more pronounced, specks and scratches pepper the proceedings, and contrast is pushed to such an extreme that clarity, skintones, and delineation take significant hits. As for the proficiency of the transfer itself, crush is a consistent issue, but artifacting and banding are kept to a minimum; grain spikes and lulls as it always has, but obvious smearing leaves me to believe DNR has been used on many sequences. That being said, it's tough to tell where Ritchie's production limitations end and Universal's fugly transfer begins. Desperate DVD owners will be somewhat pleased with any upgrade, even an inherent one, but newcomers and videophiles will be far less forgiving. Brace yourselves, gents.
Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track represents a substantial step up from the standard mixes that have preceded it, but isn't nearly as polished or powerful as I had hoped. While gunshots pack the requisite lossless kick and LFE output is heartier and more robust than ever before, rear speaker activity is spotty, voices are occasionally swallowed by ensuing chaos, and normalization issues abound. Unreliable dynamics age Lock, Stock by an extra five years as well, leaving the film at the mercy of its relatively limited budget and its director's showmanship. Thankfully, the majority of Ritchie's rat-a-tat-tat dialogue is intelligible and well-prioritized, the satisfying kick-kack of automatic weapon fire lends intensity to several standout scenes, and some much-needed directional realism makes the overall experience moderately immersive. Is there room for improvement? Definitely. A complete overhaul could eliminate additional issues (like a faint hiss that periodically graces the soundscape) and smooth out some of the film's stockier pans (among other minor mishaps). Even so, Lock, Stock diehards will find Universal's DTS-HD MA track to be more than adequate.
Aside from Universal's now-standard features -- My Scenes bookmarking, BD-Live functionality, an interactive news ticker, and D-BOX support -- the Blu-ray edition of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels only includes two supplements: a short but satisfying behind-the-scenes featurette called "One Smoking Camera" (SD, 11 minutes) and a montage of F-bombs called "Lock, Stock and Two F**cking Barrels" (SD, 2 minutes).
Though a lesser film than Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is nevertheless an entertaining precursor worthy of its Cockney-cult following. With searing dialogue and a rapidfire script that propels its twisted tale along, Ritchie's first foray into fame is fierce and funny. The Blu-ray edition is less successful, primarily due to its problematic video transfer, but also because its DTS-HD Master Audio track isn't all it could be and its supplemental package is a complete wash. While a considerable improvement from the previously released DVD, frugal fans will want to wait to pick this one up when it's on sale.
1998
Limited Edition | Iconic Art
1998
1998
2000
2-Disc Special Edition
2008
2008
30th Anniversary Edition
1992
2012
2004
2005
2006
2006
1998
2014
1997
2015
1994
2007
2008
2012
1994
Whole Lotta Sole
2011
2012