Revolver DVD Review:

Leaving prison, Jake Green (Statham) has spent seven years in solitary confinement, preparing himself for he is going to do on the outside. Making more money than he could ever spend, he has become a burden for every single casino owner. None more so than Mr. Macha (Liotta), the reason why Mr Green ended up in prison in the first place. As he comes after Macha, he comes to the attention of Avi (Benjamin) and Zach (Pastore) who make him an offer he can’t refuse.

After making a real impact in the world of cinema with ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ and ‘Snatch’, he lost his way with ‘Swept Away’ but can a return to the crime genre reinvigorate his career?

Unfortunately with ‘Revolver’, Ritchie could be lost forever. This movie is filled with his trademark visual flare and his skill with character development but it is the story that is the major stalling point of the movie. With three years to get over the commercial bomb that was ‘Swept Away’, Ritchie’s decided to return to the world that made his name, the criminal underworld. Those of you expecting fun loving criminals, doggy dealings and twists and turns a plenty will be severely disappointed because the film is a complete mess.

While he was away, he must have been watching Tarantino, David Fincher and his good friend Mathew Vaughn’s ‘Layer Cake’ as this is an amalgamation of all their styles but no coherence. The movie is filled with references to films of his directors but what he has made doesn’t come close to anything that his influences have produced. There is an unneeded animated sequence (Kill Bill), a main character that narrates the story (Layer Cake) and grandiose camera shots and beautifully shot locations (Everything David Fincher has ever done) that try and come together to make a movie but what we end up with is something that just lacks any originality. This goes completely against what he had established in ‘Lock, Stock…’ and ‘Snatch’, turning him from the head of the new wave of British filmmakers, to the scraping at the bottom of the barrel.

The main problem with the movie is that it just doesn’t make sense. The director himself says that you have to be intelligent to understand it but you would have to be a top member of Mensa even to have an inkling of want is going on. As soon as the final third of the movie kicks in, the film looses all sense of narrative and reasoning, as confusion consumes the remainder of the story. The movie supposed to be about playing a con and sizing up you enemy but when no clear enemy emerges in the final reveal, the audience it left deflated and dismayed by what they have witnessed. There are no real answers here, making the film a complete waste of time.

The only things that make the film watchable are the good performances from the cast and how visually stunning the film is. Jason Statham is as good as ever, showing again that he is a diverse actor who is just as strong with dialogue as he is with action. Ray Liotta, who for some reason has far too much mascara on, brings his strong presence to the film. There are also good performances from versatile André Benjamin and the gangster stalwart Vincent Pastore. The visuals of the film also impress, with the whole movie beautifully shot throughout but there are far too many nods to other directors from the same vain.

‘Revolver’ is a complete mess. With a complete lack of any structure and totally confusion taking over during the final third of the film, the movie just manages to anger the audience as no real conclusion is offered. Guy Ritchie really needs to reassess his career if he is going to regain the label as the one of the leading lights of the British film industry because this film turns that light completely off.

Star Rating = * * (For the visuals and performances only)

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts soundtracks, the movie is presented extremely well.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary with Guy Ritchie
In the form of an interview, writer/director Guy Ritchie is asked question about key scenes of the movie. Those of you hoping that this would explain what is going on, might be slightly more enlightened as to what the film is about. This is an interesting take on the conventional commentary track and offer the chance to hear more explanations and reasoning’s behind the films strange plot.

The Concept: Interview with Guy Ritchie and James Herbert (16.16 mins)
The director and the editor try and explain what the film is actually about. They try and reveal the layers to the concept, discussing how cryptic the film is and how the editing set the tone of the movie. The pair then talks about the editing style of the piece, revealing this experimentation used to create the hyper-look of the movie.

The Game: The Making of Revolver (24.31 mins)
Director Guy Ritchie and stars Jason Statham, André Benjamin and Vincent Pastore, take you behind the scenes of ‘Revolver’. The group talk about the lead character Jake Green, mob boss Dorothy Macha, Avi and Zach and Sam Gold. They also talk about the some of the ideas behind the film such as the perceived enemy not being the real enemy, the four rules, chess and the con of all cons.

Deleted Scenes (24.12 mins)
Entitled ‘Alternative opening scene’, ‘Extended Chess Game/Rules’, ‘White knickers scene’, ‘Extended roof top golf scene’, ‘Alternative Lord John Assassination Scene’ and ‘Alternative ending’, these deleted or alternative scenes are accompanied by introductions or commentaries by writer director Guy Ritchie.

Outtakes (4.00 mins)
Watch Ray Liotta, Jason Statham and André Benjamin make a hash of their lines and prove that they are not very good at golf.

Stills Gallery (11.19 mins)
View a montage of production, promotional and behind the scenes photographs from ‘Revolver’

Music Trailer (3.43 mins)
View and listen to a music-orientated trailer used to promote the movie.

OVERALL

The DVD presentation of the movie is as stylised as the film itself. The commentary is very good and the accompanying featurettes only add to the value. Fans of the film will be very pleased but those confused by it will still be none the wiser.



Jamie Kelwick