On the face of it – nicely, in the event you imagine the movie posters, anyway – Man Ritchie’s returned to his consolation zone with Revolver, after a disastrous sojourn past very fringe of credibility with 2002’s Swept Away (winner of 5 Razzies).
Revolver’s populated with the identical breed of fast-talking, sharp-suited felony that entertained so many people in Lock, Inventory and Snatch, the story hinges on gambles and cons and the violence is robust and trendy. Plus, in fact, Ritchie’s favorite main man, Jason ‘Transporter’ Statham is again, too, albeit with the sort of hair/’tache combo that makes him appear to be an additional in a Spaghetti Western.
Excellent news, no? Wellll… The primary warning signal comes with a gap quote from Julius Caesar. Adopted by one other from the Fundamentals Of Chess. Then one other from a enterprise information. After which, only for good measure, a remaining one from Machiavelli. A few of that are repeated later within the movie, simply in case you missed them first time round.
He’s been doing lots of studying, that Man Ritchie. Yup, he’s actually been filling his head with some very complicated concepts, and has admitted even he discovered it robust to weave all of them collectively and switch them into his Revolver script – a course of that took him 18 months.
Drawback is, he spectacularly fails to speak precisely what these concepts are. It’s all acquired one thing to do with the con as a sport – one which additionally follows the principles of enterprise – and the significance of understanding who your worst opponent/enemy is. Or understanding that your worst enemy is definitely you. And convincing them/you that they’re/you’re not. Or actually are. Or one thing.
It kicks off intriguingly sufficient with little doubt deliberate echoes of The Normal Suspects (through repeated references to a Keyser Soze-esque underworld phantom), introducing us to some enjoyable, skewed characters, like André Benjamin’s chess-dabbling mortgage shark and Mark Sturdy’s stuttering, balding hitman. But it surely’s not lengthy earlier than an overload of pink herrings begin stinking up a present already hindered by Statham’s overused voiceover, Ritchie’s tiresomely tricksy enhancing and Ray Liotta’s seeming need to shout himself to demise.
By the ultimate act, all pretense at logic is shrugged off, Revolver’s plotline contorting itself into the cinematic equal of a scribble on a maze in a toddler’s puzzle guide. You’d do higher to skip making an attempt this conundrum and stick along with your Su Doku.
A complicated, irritating and failed try and intellectualise the Lock, Inventory system. Anybody know what this movies about? Solutions on a postcard, please.
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