Tags: Dexter Fletcher | Frank Harper | Guy Ritchie | Nick Moran | Steven Mackintosh | Vinnie Jones

Guy Ritchie's much-hyped debut is - Surprise! - worth the hype.

On the surface, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (check out the Locked 'N Loaded Director's Cut) revolves around the exploits of four East End lads as they pool together £100,000 to enter a high-stakes poker game with local gangland heavy, "Hatchet" Harry.

However, the card game is merely the catalyst for a devilishly detailed caper film involving maniacal pimps, hard-nosed drug dealers, two priceless antique shotguns, and a myriad of plot twists and turns, all finely laced with shards of black humor. While Ritchie's involved storyline will undoubtedly be compared to Tarantino's work, this is a truly original endeavor, far from a London-based riff on Pulp Fiction.

Ritchie has instilled his film with crisp authenticity by judiciously peppering the dialogue with cockney-rhyming slang (There's one scene so thick with cockney-street brogue that it had to be subtitled!) and employing an excellent ensemble cast that includes infamous UK footballer Vinnie Jones and legendary bare- knuckled fighter Lenny McLean.

The chemistry between the four leads is incredibly natural, as if they had been mates for years. Add to that some gritty, neo-sepia toned cinematography, as well as the stark ambiance that only the East End could provide, and what you have is an engaging romp that unveils a side of London seldom seen on the silver screen.