Directed by a pair of 21 and 22 year old directors, it's pretty obvious from the onset that this debut feature is not for everyone - at least not for people who can't stand violence, drugs, rude language, sex and an occasional flash of boob or buttock on the silver screen.
The influence of Tarantino, Ritchie and quite a few others on the directors is quite obvious - the makers borrow freely from a range of films, from Trainspotting to Pulp Fiction to Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels. Fortunately the directors do this with panache and a tongue-in-the-cheek attitude which brings a nod and a smile in recognition of those classics. The Baywatch inspired scene is truly hilarious, and the "losing of virginity" moment has to be one of the best sex scenes ever on the big screen!
For the first half an hour, it is actually a bit difficult to keep track of all the goings-on. In quickly changing scenes, the silly antics of some rather obnoxious characters are replaced by ... well... more silly antics. However, after one gets over the initial confusion, the film shifts gears and turns toward fast paced action. The darker side of the characters emerges, and the initial low-brow humour is replaced by violence and semi-random killing-off of the main characters. The several different story lines merge nicely, and we get to closure on all the characters. And instead of a typical Hollywood movie where the bad guys die and the good guys ride off into the sunset - here, the punishment is dealt out in a more democratic fashion. Nobody is safe from being ill-treated by the writers' morbid and somewhat sick imagination.
All in all, it's over-the-top, compulsively rude, somewhat surrealistic and freewheeling piece of action. Incidentally, rumours say that before the film was released in its home market cinemas, an older female film critic watched it for a while, and then stormed off mid-film, decrying "how can such utter trash be called art??" That's worth an extra star by itself :)
The influence of Tarantino, Ritchie and quite a few others on the directors is quite obvious - the makers borrow freely from a range of films, from Trainspotting to Pulp Fiction to Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels. Fortunately the directors do this with panache and a tongue-in-the-cheek attitude which brings a nod and a smile in recognition of those classics. The Baywatch inspired scene is truly hilarious, and the "losing of virginity" moment has to be one of the best sex scenes ever on the big screen!
For the first half an hour, it is actually a bit difficult to keep track of all the goings-on. In quickly changing scenes, the silly antics of some rather obnoxious characters are replaced by ... well... more silly antics. However, after one gets over the initial confusion, the film shifts gears and turns toward fast paced action. The darker side of the characters emerges, and the initial low-brow humour is replaced by violence and semi-random killing-off of the main characters. The several different story lines merge nicely, and we get to closure on all the characters. And instead of a typical Hollywood movie where the bad guys die and the good guys ride off into the sunset - here, the punishment is dealt out in a more democratic fashion. Nobody is safe from being ill-treated by the writers' morbid and somewhat sick imagination.
All in all, it's over-the-top, compulsively rude, somewhat surrealistic and freewheeling piece of action. Incidentally, rumours say that before the film was released in its home market cinemas, an older female film critic watched it for a while, and then stormed off mid-film, decrying "how can such utter trash be called art??" That's worth an extra star by itself :)