Review of Revolver

Introduction

Following `Swept Away`, which picked up five `Razzies`, Guy Ritchie changed direction to what he hoped would be a more cerebral and intelligent film to silence the critics. He spectacularly failed and `Revolver` was almost universally panned upon its theatrical release. It`s a film I missed at the cinemas and wanted to find out whether the critics had it wrong and audiences were unfairly harsh, or whether he succeeded in making a smart and stylish film.

As for the plot, Jake Green (Jason Statham) has been imprisoned between a great conman and a chess grand master and, upon his release, is looking for revenge against Dorothy Macha (Ray Liotta) who was responsible for his incarceration. Avi and Zach (André Benjamin of the hip-hop duo Outkast and `The Sopranos` Vincent Pastore) are loan sharks who offer Green protection for his money after informing him that he has three days to live.

Video

The anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer is excellent, with superb colour definition and contrast. Guy Ritchie knows how to frame a shot and is a slick visual director and the transfer does not let him down.

Audio

Both the DD 5.1 and DTS tracks are very good, especially during the action scenes.

Features

In the audio commentary, Guy Ritchie sits with Lancelot Narayan who asks him questions about the film, most of which Ritchie refuses to answer, saying that `to answer that would take several hours`. Narayan basically forces the pace as Ritchie is extremely reluctant to say anything and I can`t remember him initiating an exchange. If you didn`t understand the film or wanted to find out more about the underlying themes then you won`t find any answers here.

In "The Concept", Lancelot Narayan interviews Guy Ritchie and editor James Herbert and the sycophancy on show is nauseating. `What a good film you made, Guy`, `What a fantastic editing job you did, James!`, `This is one of my favourite films and improves on each viewing` etc. Pass the sick-bag.

"The Game: The Making Of Revolver" is the usual behind the scenes footage, interviews and banter on set by the cast and crew.

The deleted and extended scenes, with optional commentary from Guy Ritchie really don`t add anything to the viewing experience; the out-takes similarly don`t set the room alight with laughter.

If you`re still awake, you can enjoy the music trailer stills gallery.

Conclusion

Beginning with quotes from Julius Caesar, Niccolò Machiavelli, `Etiquette of the Banker` and `Fundamentals of Chess`, a game that features prominently in this film, `Revolver` is crying out to be taken seriously.

It seems that the audience for `Revolver` would fit into one of four categories:
1.They understood the film and thought it was rubbish.
2.They didn`t understand the film and thought it was rubbish.
3.They understood the film and thought it was brilliant.
4.They didn`t understand the film, but pretended they did, and thought it was brilliant.

I fall firmly into category 1: there is nothing particularly complicated at the heart of `Revolver` yet Guy Ritchie seems to think that there is, filling the screen with numerous red herrings and clues that don`t seem to mean anything or add anything to proceedings; it`s as though he has seemingly sat through part of an AS course in philosophy and then penned a screenplay. The result is a muddled and pretentious mess.

Jason Statham, with unkempt hair and handlebar moustache has a somewhat different look to his normal `third Mitchell brother` appearance but his gruff narration quickly turns into the equivalent of nails on a blackboard. As the wonderfully named Dorothy Macha, Ray Liotta spends most of the film in his underpants and when he repeats the phrase `fear me` over and over at Statham in a pair of leopard skin briefs, I didn`t know whether to laugh or cry. Either Liotta must have been desperate for work or Guy Ritchie must have some compromising photos of him.

Ritchie made the fun but petri dish-deep `Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels`, followed it with another mockney gangster film, `Snatch`, two years later but then, fancying a change in direction, cast his new wife in the straight-to-video romantic drama `Swept Away` - a film that could scarcely have been received worse.

Back in the land of gangsters and with aspirations of making something deep and meaningful, with concepts and philosophies, comes `Revolver`. The film screams `love me, hold me, cherish me, for I am oh so smart and clever`; I don`t recall ever having seen such pretentious twaddle in all my life. The action scenes are well executed but the endless games of chess and the repetitions of such quotes as `The only way to get smarter is by playing a smarter opponent` nearly drove me to distraction.

If the film wasn`t pretentious enough on its own, the extra features are even worse. In the commentary, Lancelot Narayan says that the best way to appreciate the film is to watch it, listen to the commentary and then watch it once more, having digested the information within. Giving the film every chance, I did as Narayan suggested and the experience was even more painful on the second viewing.

There are no credits on the film and it ends, as `Apocalypse Now` did, with a black screen; whether this was supposed to have a deep and meaningful subtext or because all involved wanted to be publicly distanced from the film is unclear.

Henry James once said that `Life is too short for chess` and it`s definitely too short for `Revolver`.