Revolver by Guy Ritchie

Revolver is Guy Ritchie's last movie before his latest one, Rocknrolla. It has not been widely released or distributed anywhere (besides the UK). Starring are Jason Statham (also appears in Ritchie's: Snatch and Lock, Stock and two smoking barrels), Ray Liotta, Vincent Pastore (of Soprano's fame) and Andre Benjamin (from hip hop group, Outkast). It is written and directed by Madonna's ex-husband and the screenplay adapted by Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita).

The story is about Jake Green (Statham), a man who is released from prison after 7 years, and in a span of two years begins winning a lot of money gambling. Casino owner, Mr. D (Liotta) invites him for a game, when he loses and gets insulted wants to kill Green. Zack (Pastore) and Avi (Benjamin) are loan sharks who are willing to protect Green from Mr. D in exchange for all his money.

Ritchie presents his most thought-provoking film to date. The major theme in the movie is the human ego. Both leading roles are people who have giant egos, Green is a consistent winner at gambling and Mr. D is a powerful casino owner with a lot connections in the underworld. As the story evolves we get to know that Green is not that perfect of a gambler and Mr. D is not as powerful as he thinks he is. The thesis of this film is that our enemies don't exist and they are only an imaginary creation of our ego. Our ego is what makes us take decisions of whether to continue living in peace or expose ourselves to the dangers of life. At the end of the film, Ritchie uses testimonies from several experts (M.D.'s, P.H.D.'s and scientists) in the field to support his thesis.

Regarding the style of the film, is a well-developed script. His trademark elements are there: visually great looking with fast editing, great music, a narrator who in this case serves for knowing what the minds thought and use of rare camera shots for flashbacks, dreams and dialogues between characters. He adds the use of animation for the sake of a more entertaining storytelling. Also the actors are a mix between brits and americans with Statham being the usual suspect from previous Ritchie flicks. The film is well-written and directed, it has that witty british humor we all love and at the end it leaves us thinking about Freud, egos and human imagination; What else can you ask for?. 9/10 stars!