For reasons that probably have to do with "it's boring," you don't see many gangster movies where the leads are uncomfortable using guns, knives, brass knuckles, and pens, be they to the throat or full of man-eating pigs.

But variety is the spice of life, which is why I like to spend at least one night a week passed out in my neighbor's car instead of my back yard.

Variety in its lead character and the actor playing him gives an extra kick to 2004's Layer Cake.

Drug-dealer Daniel Craig considers himself a businessman, not a gangster. His employer Kenneth Cranham has different ideas, assigning Craig to track down a missing girl and deal for a million stolen pills -- two tasks that soon threaten to turn deadly.

These days, of course, Craig is known as the James Bond with the bloody hands and the eyes so icy even polar bears won't swim in them, but he wasn't really on the radar back when Layer Cake rolled around. Either that or I was the only one behind the times. I'll assume we all were, because he's British, so like you cared.

Craig's no Bond here, and that's part of the charm. As he's forced into the role of violent thug, he struggles to keep up with the professional people-beaters and assassins coming out of the woodwork. He's not helpless, but in the same way a crab might struggle to wield a crab-sized croquet mallet, it's clearly not his turf.

All these gangsters are wrangled by British director Matthew Vaughn. It's tempting to make a Guy Ritchie comparison -- wait, these guys have guns and British accents? You plagiarist! But Ritchie's stylish visuals are the equivalent of a circus lion assaulting you with fireworks and Mountain Dew. Vaughn's style is less flashy but more elegant, better suited for Layer Cake's fairly serious tone.

Then again, you can't burn time on fireworks when your plot's wriggling like a sentient but Parkinson's-afflicted whip.

Adapting from his own novel, screenwriter J.J. Connolly tells an unpredictable story that's constantly in motion. Vaughn prevents it from feeling rushed, but doesn't always keep the details clear.

It's one of those movies where I was glad I was taking notes, and not just because I repeatedly got to check out this sweet doodle of a guitar-playing dog.

The plot curves continue right through a final scene that's ready-made internet argument fuel. Whatever your feelings on its ending, Layer Cake is the kind of flick that gives gangster movies a good name: smart, stylish and boasting a cast to match.

* Contact Ed Robertson at edwrobertson@gmail.com