Stickmen (2001)

i must have seen a different film!!

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Why do so many people want to compare this film to lock stock? is it a British thing? maybe. ENOUGH ABOUT LOCK STOCK (which in my opinion was a film full of mis cast actors.Stickmen does not make you rethink your life! Stickmen does not make you want to start your own pool team! ( dirty dancing made me want to dance, Rocky made me want to box.)What stickmen gives you is 1.5 hrs of laughs followed by tension, followed by romance followed by pool. It is full of kiwi humour and although a different genre to "brain dead" it clearly has the same down to earth non pompous attitude to laughter.so lets get our heads out of our butts and laugh at Wayne, envy Jack and get our moms to smother Thomas in kisses. Who would have thought that so many class performances could have come from Shortland street.

I don't like to repeat what has been said before, but it is true. This is very much like Tarantino meets Ritchie. With that said, here is the lowdown. The first scene (set) has such a great slap to it, if you do not find it funny; there is no sense in going any further.Three mates (best friends) get put into an underground pool tournament. The real catch is it consists of only one game per match and locations of the matches keep changing. Keep in mind; the `shock' content is part of this grand journey. The dialogue is quite humorous. Although you may not get all of the humor, as this is a New Zealand (Kiwi) brand of humor, it is great just the same.The three words to best describe this film would be seedy, sexy, and smart. The many directions the characters go in this film is exactly what happens to real people when put under strange conditions. This is totally devoted to the characters rather than pool, but it is sure to be a pool theme classic film. Low budget? You bet, but totally worth it. So I do recommend it for the Babes, Booze, Bars, Bros., and yes of course - the pool!PEACE!

Stickmen was great on video for an easy night in. Having heard positive feedback about it for so long I was pleasantly surprised when my high expectations were not disappointed. Sure - it bore some similarities to Lock Stock, but who cares? The caper genre is nothing new. Plans are made, foiled, remade, and the crafty plot comes with some genuinely funny laughs. In fact, I liked it better than Lock Stock for the mere fact that in the place of mass gratuitous violence was a game: we see more confrontations with pool cues than with guns, and yet Stickmen still maintains the seedy/tough flavour. Not only that but there are female characters who are central to the plot, and they even have their own personalities! A great piece of filmmaking.

After watching a few trashy NZ films its great to see a totally entertaining and fresh flick which keeps you guessing,laughing and enthralled from start to finish. Bassically 3 kiwi guys are thrust into a high stakes pool tournament, were they play a bevy of different and interesting characters every round,throw in a couple of chicks, and underworld King Pin"Daddy" and his lakeys and you have the formula for stickmen. Add to the mix a few interesting Sub plots/Diversions-The guy who works as a driver for escorts, the guy with the pink shirt etc, and you have the freshest film to come out of New Zealand since the days of Brain Dead and Once Were Warriors.