Revolver

[stevedster]

Beautifully shot and directed, looks great on my pio, however *** was it all about? Could have been a good film, but it was just to damn confusing to enjoy that much. opinions?

[rmoxon]

Revolver is nothing more than one mans mind numbing philosophy on the darkness within us all that is stretched out for 2 hours and shown to us through loads of sequences that don’t mean anything, and are just plain aggravating to watch.

Ritchie thinks that to be intellegent you need to confuse the audience completely and do it in such a heavy handed way as to **** them off at the same time. This was one of the most embaressingly messy films I have ever seen.

He was obviously inspired by David Lynch movies, but seemed to have no idea what makes them so good.

[stevefish69]

*** was the ending all about. Was one of the most confusing films of this type that i've seen to date.

Gonna have to have this one in my collection for the excellent use of Bass though

Steve

[dc007]

I found it awful.

Loved 'Lock, Stock...' and 'Snatch', so I had very high hopes...

Bitterly disappointing.

Pile of poo

[CarlitoBrigante]

Thought it was one of the best films of the year personally.

It was one of the most strikingly original and challenging pieces of cinema I've seen in a long time, but I can kind of see why people get so irritated by it, even if it seems like a large percentage are just jumping on the 'hate Ritchie' bandwagon.

It's easy to hate something you don't understand.

[AndyBBB]

Originally Posted by CarlitoBrigante

It's easy to hate something you don't understand.

Feel free to explain it to me.

[CarlitoBrigante]

The film can be interpreted (and I mean that word loosely) in so many ways. I saw it as a viewing experience which you're not supposed to 'get' like a normal linear film that we're used to.

You could read the whole film as a game of chess, or as a metaphor for Greed and Power.

That fact that you don't 'get it' doesn't necessarily make it a bad film. When you say 'explain it to me', it kind of means you want a rational explanation in a way that you would describe most films that you've seen.

Have you not seen any films that didn't make any sense to you in a conventional way, yet you still understood and appreciated on a personal level?

Eraserhead is a prime example of one for me.

I saw Revolver, enjoyed the experience of watching it, then thought about it for days afterwards. I can't say that about many films I've seen in the last few years.

[rmoxon]

The fact that I didnt get it wasnt why I hated it... the fact that it was made in such a heavy handed and nuasating manner full of embaressing performances and a story that thought it was clever but was really just a metaphore for somthing no one really cares about. That was why I hated it.

Earaserhead is awesome and powerful cinema thats bizzare but damn cool. Revolver is just an ignorant mess that isn't fun, isnt clever, and certainly dosnet mean anything of any relevance other than that Ritchie is an idiot.

Youre right you don't have to "get" films to enjoy them. But you do have to think they are good, and Revolver isn't a good film.

This film was the second worse of last year for me, after the remake of The Fog.

[CarlitoBrigante]

I think calling Ritchie an idiot is a bit harsh mate. I don't particulary like the guy too much myself, but he's achieved a hell of a lot more than I probably will in life.

What embarassing performances?

A know Liotta was a bit over the top, but I thought the way he played his character was perfectly in tune with the tone of the film.

Revolver is always gonna split people. You'll either love it or think it's a pile of pretentious b*llocks. Most seem to fall into the second category, although there is a small, enthusiastic cult following building up around the net.

However, I think it would have been interesting to see what the general opinion would have been like if this was released just after Lock, Stock, before Madonna and all the public hatred started.

[rmoxon]

This film would have never been made before Ritchie met Madona, and I think this movie is actually the scary result of her exitential phlosophical ideas more than his own. But I suppose that is all just speculation so i will leave it at that.

All the performances in this movie were embaressing, From the "I'm too cool to make sense" bablings of Andre 3000 or whatever hes called, to Jason Stathem looking confused the whole movie then arguing with his "inner demons" in a lift for 10 minutes for the most cringe inducing scene of the film. Everyone in this film no doubt looks back on this and winces now. Ray liota was not only over the top, but spent half the movie wearing nothing but his underwear and crying. It wasn't entertaining to watch, it was just ridiculous. The only guy who came out with any dignity was the guy who played the hitman, as he was pretty cool and actually attempted to make an intresting character.

I don't hate Ritchie, you seem to be trying to defend the film by saying this is all Ritchie hate, but its not. It is diapointment that a man, who can obviously direct movies well, just completely messed up here. I'd still like to see his next film, and it really dosnet matter when Revolver was released, its a crap film and always will be a crap film. Nearly every director makes one at some point, this is just worse than most.

[CarlitoBrigante]

I'm not saying it's all Ritchie-hate. I just feel a lot of it is.

Your opinion on this is probably the same as about 90% of the people that have seen it, and that's fair enough. It seems like it's actually p*ssed you off! LOL...Unless you're like this with every film you don't like.

That seems to be how a lot of people react to it though. It's like they feel cheated for even watching it, lol.

[rmoxon]

LOL, well yeah, youre right, Revolver did **** me off... everything about it seemed like it was trying to **** its audience off... so much so that you couldnt even just ignore the huge ammounts of annoying crap it was throwing at you.. it really is one of the most agrivating films I have ever seen (and as I mentioned a few posts up, I even managed to sit through the excruicating dullness of The Fog remake, so it takes a lot to agrivate me).

I love the kind of film Revolver wants to be, films like Primer, Mullholand Drive, Lost Highway. But unlike those films there was just nothing to Revolver, not deep down. It lacked the intricate details, moving performances, good story telling, it had no heart or soul. Those films might not make any sense on first veiwing but they are captivating experiences. Revolver dosent try to captivate its audience, it attempts to leave them one step behind and annoy them in the process.

[AndyBBB]

Originally Posted by CarlitoBrigante

Have you not seen any films that didn't make any sense to you in a conventional way, yet you still understood and appreciated on a personal level?.

Yes, several - all of which are among my favourite movies of all time.

My problem with Revolver was that it didn't make sense in a conventional way, and I didn't understand it on a personal level.

I just couldn't see what Ritchie was trying to say, and I couldn't decide what I thought the movie was trying to say to me.

I didn't think it was awful - I've seen far, far worse movies (anyone who likes the scifi and horror genres has). I just didn't think it was particularly good, either.

[CarlitoBrigante]

I can kind of see where you're coming from guys, but personally I loved the film. Should be getting the Region 2 version with DTS delivered tomorrow and I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

Luckily, it did kind of connect with me on a personal level. I don't know why or how, but I just really appreciated it.

I also really liked Primer, Mullholand Drive, Lost Highway, et al. But I wouldn't necessarily put Revolver in that bracket. Actually, I don't think there is anything that bares comparison from what I know. Maybe thats why I like it so much, that and the fact that I'm strongly attracted to Ray Liotta, especially when he's crying in his pants..



p.s. I was only joking about the last part. Seriously!

[Always-hungry]

Not expecting much after all the harsh review's but to be honest, best film so far this year. A bit like Fight Club, love it or hate it, you decide what camp your in.

Cracking sound and picture