Revolver (2005) Review

Although you've probably never heard of it, Revolver is quite a divisive film. Skimming through reviews, depending on what you're drawn to, you might think this is the absolute worst movie ever made or a masterpiece. 

I watched this film about 8 years ago. I didn't like it originally. I honestly don't recall much of why. In fact, I found it so unmemorable that watching it again less than a decade later, I felt like I'd never even seen it before.

I felt like I got more out of my second viewing of the film, but I can't say that I liked it. Revolver is a hard film to pin down. My overall impression of it is that it's trying way too hard to be stylish and complex. The story and characters, which are all actually pretty interesting, are lost in a highly stylized, over complicated, and over philosophized fog. 

Director Guy Ritchie has done some pretty spectacular work. I was first introduced to his films when I watched my way through Mark Strong's filmography.  Ritchie's unique comedy-crime romps became some of my favorite films because they felt so fresh and different. They were stylish and sexy, and they were damn good. However this style, that Ritchie is usually a master of, runs wild in Revolver.  Put simply, Revolver just feels overdone. 

Since the plot relies heavily on twists and secrets, I can't really tell you much about the plot. The story focuses on Jake Green (Jason Statham), a gambler, seeking revenge on gangster  Dorothy Macha (Ray Liotta) for his time spent in prison. Macha orders a hit on Green, but Green finds a friend in two loan sharks who are happy to protect him for a price. From this point, the movie goes off  about 20 different rails.

One thing Revolver has got is great characters. From Ray Liotta's overbearing and under dressed  mob boss to Mark Strong's neurotic, stammering hit man, Revolver does have a lot of fun, interesting and memorable characters. If the overall film was better, I'd bet that some of them could have gone to have a place in film history. Sadly, like everything else good about Revolver, they're forever entombed in the needlessly complex.

To complicate matters further, there are actually two versions of this film. It was received so poorly upon release that it was hastily re-edited. The one available most readily is the second version, which most say is inferior to the original and makes far less sense. As someone who's seen both, neither one is anything special.

Stripped down, Revolver could have easily been a classic crime film, but as is, it's an over complicated, disappointing mess. If you're a fan of Ritchie's work, or you're really into mind-fuck movies, I'd give it a watch, but don't expect it to be your new favorite.