Though not as successful as
Trainspotting (1996) or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), this high-energy, kinetic crime thriller belongs in the same British New Wave category as those later films. In a decaying British city of the near future, Billy (
Jude Law) is an ex-con adrenaline junkie dating a Belfast native, the thrill-seeking Jo (
Sadie Frost). Billy and Jo are the leaders of a teen gang of "ram-raiders," car thieves who jack an automobile, ram the vehicle through the front of a store, and steal whatever booty they can carry before the authorities arrive. A typical ram raid ends up in a high-speed pursuit by the police, which is all a part of the game for Billy, Jo, and their followers. However, a local drug lord, Tommy (
Sean Pertwee) doesn't like the teen crooks infringing on his business. His opposition to their scheming leads to a deadly car race that plays out like a game of post-modern "chicken." Following the release of Shopping (1994), writer-director Paul Anderson went in a different direction than contemporaries
Guy Ritchie and
Danny Boyle, opting to create slick Hollywood science fiction films such as
Mortal Kombat (1995),
Event Horizon (1996), and
Soldier (1998). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide