Revolver

Revolver

Director Guy Ritchie's (LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS) fourth feature film is about a hard-bitten gambler named Jake Green (played by Ritchie favorite Jason Statham). Green has just spent a lengthy stretch in jail and is seeking revenge on the man who put him behind bars--crime overlord Dorothy Macha (Ray Liotta). Macha's thirst for gambling is his weak spot, and Green exploits it by soundly beating him on a visit to the crime boss's own casino. A hit is subsequently ordered on Green, and he teams up with two tough guys. Avi (Andre Benjamin aka Andre 3000 from Atlanta-based hip-hop outfit Outkast) and Zack (Vincent Pastore) who offer to protect him. Green must give all his money to Avi and Zack, and work for them, if he values his life, so he agrees to the deal despite simultaneously discovering that he suffers from a rare blood disease that will kill him within three days.


At this point in the movie Ritchie and writer Luc Besson (who adapted the screenplay from Ritchie's original script) loosen the narrative structure of REVOLVER, deliberately confounding their audience as the film takes a number of oddball twists and turns. The bloodshed and extreme violence of Ritchie's first two films remain, but he takes this movie into unusual territory as Statham's character begins to ponder the meaning of life, scenes are replayed with different consequences, and an assassin (played by Mark Strong) has an existential crisis about his occupation. REVOLVER isn't an easy ride, but it is likely to stir some debate among passionate Ritchie fans as he follows SWEPT AWAY with another unusual addition to his canon.