Revolver is a Guy Ritchie movie in the same vein as his other crime movies, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Like those, characters and a convoluted story make Revolver a pleasure to watch -- getting you hooked early on, and stringing you along for the ride. Unlike Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, however, Revolver is less violent, more complex and has been accused of being pretentious -- which in my opinion, is critique from the small-minded.
Revolver follows Jake Green (Jason Statham), as he is released from prison, where he served seven years in a requested solitary confinement, sandwiched between cells occupied by two conmen. The men communicated on the topics of confidence tricks and chess moves, by writing cryptic notes to each other in books passed between the cells. Green picks on those tricks, and spends five of his years in solitary confinement, being schooled by his neighbours on the strategy to win every game, dubbed "the Formula." Green's two neighbours, meanwhile, learn everything about him, and when they leave prison, they move in on Green's life on the outside, and clean him out of what little wealth he had acquired. Green discovers this two years after he leaves prison, but takes everything in stride, as he leverages "the Formula" to make riches by gambling.
Green eventually goes after casino crime boss, Dorothy Macha (Ray Liotta), who was the cause of Green ending up in prison. The stakes in the game he plays with Macha however, quickly grows, as Macha calls a hit on Green. With his life at stake, Green is given no choice, but to take the protection offer of Zach (Vincent Pastore) and Avi (André Benjamin) -- who ask in return, nothing more than Green's total obedience and all his money. It is in this relationship, that Green discovers the game that is much larger than himself -- and eventually learns to not only to overcome the enemy within himself, but in so doing, learn how to truly win. This is where the story becomes quite esoteric -- almost spiritual.
The story will be confusing, and trying to piece it together on a single viewing may be asking too much. That being said, there is quite a lot invested in characters of the film to make it an easy film on the brain. It is entertaining because of the characters, not just the deep story -- and there really are some wacky characters in the film. You could almost tell another story with some of them. The cinematography is also easy on the eye -- if you've seen Ritchie's previous films, you know he's a competent director. Somewhere in them middle of the movie, he injects some stylized animation for a little trip. It's weird, but it works. It's a great movie, and if you enjoyed Ritchie's previous films, you'll probably dig this one.
Revolver follows Jake Green (Jason Statham), as he is released from prison, where he served seven years in a requested solitary confinement, sandwiched between cells occupied by two conmen. The men communicated on the topics of confidence tricks and chess moves, by writing cryptic notes to each other in books passed between the cells. Green picks on those tricks, and spends five of his years in solitary confinement, being schooled by his neighbours on the strategy to win every game, dubbed "the Formula." Green's two neighbours, meanwhile, learn everything about him, and when they leave prison, they move in on Green's life on the outside, and clean him out of what little wealth he had acquired. Green discovers this two years after he leaves prison, but takes everything in stride, as he leverages "the Formula" to make riches by gambling.
Green eventually goes after casino crime boss, Dorothy Macha (Ray Liotta), who was the cause of Green ending up in prison. The stakes in the game he plays with Macha however, quickly grows, as Macha calls a hit on Green. With his life at stake, Green is given no choice, but to take the protection offer of Zach (Vincent Pastore) and Avi (André Benjamin) -- who ask in return, nothing more than Green's total obedience and all his money. It is in this relationship, that Green discovers the game that is much larger than himself -- and eventually learns to not only to overcome the enemy within himself, but in so doing, learn how to truly win. This is where the story becomes quite esoteric -- almost spiritual.
The story will be confusing, and trying to piece it together on a single viewing may be asking too much. That being said, there is quite a lot invested in characters of the film to make it an easy film on the brain. It is entertaining because of the characters, not just the deep story -- and there really are some wacky characters in the film. You could almost tell another story with some of them. The cinematography is also easy on the eye -- if you've seen Ritchie's previous films, you know he's a competent director. Somewhere in them middle of the movie, he injects some stylized animation for a little trip. It's weird, but it works. It's a great movie, and if you enjoyed Ritchie's previous films, you'll probably dig this one.
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