Revolver

Gambler and conman Jake Green (Jason Statham) always ran with a bad crowd and it cost him seven years of his life when he took the rap for mean Dorothy Macha (Ray Liotta) and wound up in jail. After his release, Jake becomes unbeatable at the tables using a formula for the ultimate con that he learned from two mysterious fellow prisoners. Now he is ready to take his revenge. Macha is plotting to eliminate his ruthless rival, Lord John, and has staked his credibility on a huge drug deal with the all-powerful Sam Gold. Jake visits Macha at his casino and humiliates him publicly in a game of chance. Macha fearing more of the same medicine sends his goons to "take care of" Jake. His life is saved by enigmatic Zach (Vincent Pastore) who, with his equally inscrutable partner Avi (André Benjamin), offers Jake protection. Against his better judgment, Jake accepts. He soon finds himself playing the very last game he wants to be playing, and there is danger at every turn. But the biggest danger of all comes from a totally unexpected source. Product Description

Who is Sam Gold?

This movie is a completely different beast than 'Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels', and 'Snatch'. I enjoyed both of those movies immensely. But Revolver is quite unique to any movie I have seen.

I actually saw this movie a few years ago. It was released in the UK and Europe in 2005 in theatres and DVD. I purchased a copy online. I wondered at the time why it hadn't been released in the U.S.

Firstly, I cannot say much about the story, because I don't want to give anything away. It's that type of movie. Reminded me of the first time I saw 'Fight Club'. I said, "what the f---?" But I knew I'd just witnessed something pretty awesome. Definitely a movie you have to see twice.

I would really emphasize that to anyone interested in this film. It REQUIRES multiple viewings. I figured the movie out midway through the second watch. But it took several viewings to fully understand. Also, seeing other reviewers on different sites when the movie originally came out, it was definitely those who watched it several times to understand it that fell in love with 'Revolver'.

A warning here for some of you: lots of violence and blood and profanity. If that's alright with you, the movie is a thrill to watch. It tries some different things that really worked for me. Excellent sound editing, with the gritty voice over by Jason Statham. The editing is frantic. I have to say, the Elevator Scene, you'll know what I am referring to after viewing, is one of the most intense movie scenes I've ever seen.

That scene, and the finale. The final scene. In a word, INTENSE. This movie really goes out with a bang. One of my favorite all-time endings. Ray Liotta, fantastic. Great to see him with a top notch performance. Statham carries the movie. Also, Sorter, the hitman, really has a classic performance.

'Revolver' is filled with memorable scenes. They went out on a limb trying new things and it really paid off. Notably, the animated sequence is pretty cool. Dialogue: Unbelievable. Some of the things Jake (Statham) says in the voiceover, it's just really great stuff. And I loved the way they worked the quotes into the movie.

I understand that it could be a frustrating and very confusing movie to many. Again, I would highly recommend multiple viewings. But this is no doubt a movie not to be liked by all. But some of you will love it as I did.

'Revolver' really demands your attention. It has a deep and cool message behind all of it. This movie is sure to be a cult classic. Give it 5-10 years and some people will see it for what it is. A masterpiece.

The final question you'll be asking... Who is Sam Gold? May 6, 2008

Not a crime against cinema by any means

Neither the total disaster the UK critics claimed nor the misunderstood masterpiece its few fanboys insist, Guy Ritchie's original UK cut of Revolver is at the very least an admirable attempt to add a little substance to his conman capers. But then, nothing is more despised than an ambitious film that bites off more than it can chew, especially one using the gangster/con-artist movie framework. As might be expected from Luc Besson's name on the credits as producer, there's a definite element of 'Cinema de look' about it: set in a kind of realistic fantasy world where America and Britain overlap, it looks great, has a couple of superbly edited and conceived action sequences and oozes style, all of which mark it up as a disposable entertainment. But Ritchie clearly wants to do more than simply rehash his own movies for a fast buck, and he's spent a lot of time thinking and reading about life, the universe and everything. If anything its problem is that he's trying to throw in too many influences (a bit of Machiavelli, a dash of Godard, a lot of the Principles of Chess), motifs and techniques, littering the screen with quotes: the film was originally intended to end with three minutes of epigrams over photos of corpses of mob victims, and at times it feels as if he never read a fortune cookie he didn't want to turn into a movie. Rather than a commercial for Kabbalism, it's really more a mixture of the overlapping principles of commerce, chess and confidence trickery that for the most part pulls off the difficult trick of making the theosophy accessible while hiding the film's central (somewhat metaphysical) con.

The last third is where most of the problems can be found as Jason Statham takes on the enemy (literally) within with lots of ambitious but not always entirely successful crosscutting within the frame to contrast people's exterior bravado with their inner fear and anger, but it's got a lot going for it all the same. Not worth starting a new religion over, but I'm surprised it didn't get a US distributor. Maybe they found Ray Liotta's intentionally fake tan just too damn scary?

The extrason the UK PAL DVD include a good interview with Ritchie and the editor, a standard love-in making of, music video and numerous deleted scenes. Unfortunately a cast and credits list is not included, which considering the absence of any credits on the film is a serious oversight.
February 17, 2008

One of my favorite movies

This movie blows me away. You have to be smart to get this movie. That's the problem with so many movies because they are designed for mass groups of stupid people. You really have to be able to think to figure this movie out. I love it. Great Soundtrack too. Remember if you don't like this movie it's because you are too stupid to get it. Ha ha ha you are dumb. January 25, 2008

Not a film to be watched, it's to be digested

While it is easy enough to wash this over as too confusing or paradoxically "dumb" due to its presumed over-intelligence, it strikes me as a great springboard into thinking about bigger pictures. If you watch films for the guns, blood, racing cars and paper-thin plot, this is not the one for you (though there are some of these used).

Yes Guy has let slip some of Madonna's Kabalah into this movie, and yes it is far off tilt from what we of the spoon fed "hook-cliche-clear cut ending" crowd of TV and little else are accustomed to, but don't let that scare you away. Those frightening goblins called "new ideas" and "challenges of world view" are all around us, this movie included. While by no means an analytical philosophical work or any similar sort of academic endeavor, it does pay up handsomely in getting the gray matter churning.

Damn if I wouldn't like to see more of this from Guy or anyone else. January 16, 2008

Good Flick...

The new Guy Ritchie movie is a good movie not getting proper credit. Every one is saying he is repeating himself. So does Mr. Martin S.(Mean streets,goodfellas,casino).But each film has something new to offer and a new maturity to it.If you like Ritchie's other flix's then please watch this and vote to get it to American DVD soon. Great characters,good story and fun to watch... January 6, 2008

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