Revolver

REVOLVER (2005) - Sept. 12, 2005
Well, I've been thinking about this movie all afternoon and I can safely say that I am baffled by it (but not necessarily in a bad way). Though it started out as what seemed like a straight-forward gangster movie, it just got stranger and more confusing and by the end I was scratching my head and wondering what it all meant. It was certainly well directed (though not as flashy as some of Ritchie's previous films) and well acted (Jason Statham and Ray Liotta are at their best, particularly Statham). But it was just strange, though thankfully not in a Miike or Lynch "strange for the sake of strange" type of way. Ritchie described it as "a chess game within a chess game within a chess game," which seems apt. I get the feeling that the movie will become a lot more clear and get a lot better on repeat viewings, but unfortunately I'm going to have to wait a while until I find that out. Certainly, kudos goes to Guy Ritchie for trying something different; I have a feeling that those expecting another Snatch or Lock Stock are going to be sorely disappointed. Who knows, I may watch this again and find that it is just as confusing and obtuse on repeat viewings, but I have a feeling that this is not the case. This has the potential to be a four star movie, I think, but right now I'm giving it a three. But then, since I wrote this a few hours ago, I've been thinking about the movie pretty much nonstop, so I'm going to have to bump this up to a three-and-a-half. ***1/2