THERE was one undoubted star of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

As Big Chris, former football hard man Vinnie Jones made the screen come alive each time he was on it - not a bad effort in such an action-packed film.

Of course, the role was written specifically for him by Brit film-maker Guy Ritchie, after he saw him in a TV cameo role. But Jones, as always in his career, grasped the opportunity with both hands.

And Hollywood came a-calling. Now he's the toast of Tinseltown, thanks to his menacing role in the new Nicolas Cage movie Gone In 60 Seconds.

Cage plays a retired car thief who, after six years of clean living, reunites his old gang to steal 60 cars in a single night. Jones plays Sphinx, a seemingly mute but imposing villain.

It's an impressive Hollywood debut alongside Cage, who stars as Randall Raines, a man drawn back into a life of crime when his brother Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) finds himself into a spot of bother with local heavy Raymond Calitri (Christopher Eccleston).

Randall must steal the motors within the space of 24 hours - and deliver them all to a cargo ship by 8am - to save Kip from execution at the hands of the mob.

As good as Randall is, he knows this job is far too big for just one man. So he reluctantly tracks down the members of his old team to join him in one final fling.

On board are ageing mastermind Otto Halliwell (Robert Duvall), Randall's old flame Sarah Wayland (Angelina Jolie), lifelong pal Atley Jackson (Will Patton) and - of course - mortician-cum-car jacker The Sphinx.

With the minimum of preparation time, the plan is put into action, but little do they realise that detectives Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and Drycott (Timothy Olyphant) have been tipped off about the operation, and are lying in wait.