Revolver

Yeah I know the hype before you say it. I had the chance (using a trial of a DVD rental service) to see this … “special” film so I took it. Have just finished watching it.

Hmmmm.

I can see why people walked out of the premiere saying it was a bag of crap. I think the problem stems from the fact that Guy Ritchie has got himself into a bit of a hole. He’s carved himself out a nice Gangster Moive shaped hole and unless he doesnt something radically unlike a gangster movie, he’s always going to be compaired to his previous offerings. Revolver starts out like many Ritchie films, with a main character giving us a nice voiceover monologue explaining things. The classic Ritchie shots are all there (the pan down a large scene and zoom into characters to establish them) but thankfully hes gotten over his penchant for pausing which explaining things, which was starting to get a little old.

The plot moves fairly as expected but with some nice twists and build up reminiscent of Fight Club or slightly of The Game. Sadly it starts to go pear shaped about 50 mins in. The trouble seems to be that Ritchie is trying to be too clever for his own good. The sense of metaphysics and mental dialogue that eventually take over the plot are not introduced well and you are left feeling bewildered as to what all the fuss is about. While a valiant attempt to break out of the classic gangster genre that Ritchie does so well, it fails as it trys to be two things at once. Like a two bears trying to fit into a telephone booth, only one can exists at any one time and the flitting too and fro is very confusing to say the least. The ending (which I suspect is the part that annoyed most people) is very purplexing and is frustrating as with a little more in the film you might have found the answers you were subconciously seeking and thus making a satisfying feeling at the end. As it stands you’re left feeling cheated that you sat through the whole movie and have nothing to show for it at the end.

The film may yeild more insight after a second viewing but personally I wouldnt want to sit through it again due to that cheated feeling it left me first time round. Had this film NOT been set in a gangster genre it might have done much better than it did. Sadly for Mr Ritchie its damaged his credibility in the movie industry and I wonder what, if any, comeback he will make.

Verdict is, if you havent seen it I would see it once, mostly to see what all the fuss is about and to get your own opinion. Just dont expect great things out of it.