Review: ‘Revolver’ on DVD

Tagline: The greatest trick that he ever pulled was making you believe that he is you.

What? It takes you a while to figure out exactly what the heck this movie is all about, but once you do its simply freakin’ brilliant. I’ve loved the films of Guy Ritchie [except for Swept Away, of course] ever since the first time I saw Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Ritchie has his own unique way of structuring his films and they’re always so energetic and exhilarating. Ritchie is a writer-director that combines all the best aspects of fresh film-making into movie’s that work and aren’t pretentious, but are still edgy and entertaining.

Revolver (2005/2007 USA) is no exception, but Ritchie has raised the bar with this film. The average movie-goer wouldn’t peg Ritchie for being the cerebral type of film-maker, but then again … what does the average movie-goer know? After all, if cerebral films were popular in the mainstream, it wouldn’t have taken Ritchie two years to raise money to make this film and two more years to get a limited release in the USA after premiering in 2005. Revolver is a thinking person’s movie, but it also still holds true to Ritchie’s trademark style.

In a nutshell, Revolver is about Jake Green, played by Jason Statham, a man who has just been released from a seven year term in prison. Green is dead set on making the man who put him there pay his dues. That man is Dorothy Macha, played by Ray Liotta, a man who has done very well for himself while Green was away. Two years after Green’s release, he has developed a hearty success and makes his move on Macha. Just when Green thinks things are looking up, he finds himself thrown into the oddest of predicaments. Green learns of some things, meets some strange characters and begins experiencing some extremely bizarre experiences. Sorry … my vagueness at this point is crucial to not spoiling the movie for you. Sort of like trying to tell you about Pulp Fiction without giving anything away.

To put it simply, Revolver is about Green’s struggle to overcome the fallacy of his perceived enemy and to vanquish his true enemy … the enemy within. Don’t look at me like that … see the movie. Statham is great, despite the fact that his normal action-packed performance is all but non-existent. The true acting gem of this film is Ray Liotta who plays a boss that is gradually losing his empire, his control and his mental marbles. It does take some patience getting to the guts of the story, but its worth sticking out. Besides, Revolver is anything but boring while on the journey to enlightenment that Ritchie so generously sends us on. As always in Guy Ritchie films, this movie contains plenty of funky shots and sequences, time shuffled in editing, well-balanced humor and seriousness, great music and great characters to boot. Just remember you’re getting a bonus this time … its like watching Guy Ritchie direct an ancient Greek allegory.

[rating:4/5]

DVD Features:

• Commentary with Writer/Director Guy Ritchie and Editor James Herbert
• Deleted/Extended Scenes
• Outtakes
• The Game: The Making of Revolver
• Revolver: Making the Music
• The Concept: An Interview with Writer/Director Guy Ritchie and Editor James Herbert
• Photo Gallery
• Music Trailer
• Previews