'Guy Ritchie Meets The Italian Job' Gangster Series Misses The Point Of The Superior Movie It's Based On

Published Nov 10, 2026, 10:00 PM EST

Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones. 

You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, "Movie Monsters of the Deep."

Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant. 

Guy Ritchie movies are practically a genre of their own, with the director's gritty and sepia-toned gangster stories making his career and launching the careers of many of his regular collaborators, like Jason Statham and Vinnie Jones. While Ritchie has directed some surprising movies in other genres, and moved some focus to higher budgets and larger scale productions, like The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and Young Sherlock, his earlier projects still rank among the best gangster movies of all time, and it is hardly surprising that he has explored some of these worlds once more through TV shows.

There have been three TV shows based on Guy Ritchie movies, with the earliest being Lock, Stock... based on the movie's full title, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. While Ritchie did not direct the series, his influence was clear, with the director both writing and executive producing it. Even so, Guy Ritchie's TV shows have been met with varying success, and while Lock, Stock... had the potential to be a hit on the same level as today's The Gentlemen, it missed the point of the iconic movie.

The Lock, Stock... TV Series Was Good, But Nowhere Near The Movie's Level

When Hatchet Harry commissions two incompetent robbers to steal a collection of old guns, the robbers sell them without realizing their true value. This sets Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels up as a comedy of errors, with seemingly minor events paying off by becoming major plot drivers later, like a short scene featuring a traffic warden that later reveals him to be a crime's only witness. The movie layers its mishaps, which all set up the final Italian Job-style cliffhanger ending, which is one of the best scenes in any of Guy Ritchie's gangster movies.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels revolved around a domino effect in which the more the characters tried to fix their errors, the worse the situation became. The fact that these events were irreversible was both the point of the movie and part of the comedy. On the other hand, the TV show Lock, Stock... attempted to recreate this by centering on four characters who repeatedly attempt new shady business ventures, with the results generally being disastrous. However, the fact that the TV show effectively wiped the slate clean every episode missed the movie's point by removing the high stakes.

Comparing the Lock, Stock... TV show and movie
Title	Year	IMDb score
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels	1998	8.1
Lock, Stock...	2000	7.6

Lock, Stock... was a good TV series in its own right, combining Guy Ritchie's signature quotable slang with the British wit and "lovable hustler" archetype from the original Italian Job movie. Unfortunately, its link to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels hurt it, as it could never measure up to the movie's success, which had earned it a 93% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a BAFTA nomination. The series' soundtrack and character writing were praised, and despite being canceled after one seven-episode season, Lock, Stock... became Ritchie's blueprint for later, better adaptations.

Lock, Stock... Predicted Guy Ritchie's Later Foray Into Streaming Shows

Netflix

Guy Ritchie has a highly distinctive directing style, and while Lock, Stock... did not work as well as other great gangster TV shows, this was due to a clash with the tone of the source material rather than a fault with his approach. Instead, Lock Stock... predicted Ritchie's streaming success with series like The Gentlemen. His gritty but cinematic aesthetic is now sought-after, and watching Lock, Stock... now, the series feels ahead of its time, belonging in the same family as series like MobLand and The Gentlemen, which are now some of the biggest hits of his streaming career.

The Gentlemen is the first TV series that Guy Ritchie directed.

Lock, Stock... might have followed an episodic format, but it showcased Ritchie's layered and multi-plot storytelling within each episode, and this signature style is even more effective in the age of streaming, as people can keep track of complex intersecting storylines by binge-watching the entire series. The Gentlemen and MobLand use this to great effect, and Lock, Stock... is still well worth watching as a look into his career progression, despite not measuring up to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which is easily Guy Ritchie's best movie, even 28 years later.