John's Movie Musings

Guy Ritchie is the poster boy for British Heist flicks. Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels are classics filled with great scenes and memorable characters. He even did those BMW commercials that were all the rage a few years ago.

But then Mr. Ritchie married Madonna and everything went down the crapper. Or the loo, as they say across the Pond.

Revolver was Guy Ritchie's project back in 2005 - around the time things started getting bad with the missus. (side note: That's the first time I've written "missus" other than "Mrs." I had to look it up). Instead of being a heist movie, Revolver is the familiar cousin - a British Con flick. Since "con" has a negative meaning, I'm assuming this was done on purpose as a reflection of his marriage.

The movie is a complete mess. The plot is all over the place and for some reason, there's an excessive use of famous quotes. There are four or five in the opening credits, and if that wasn't enough, all of the characters join in the fun throughout the movie. It's like Bartlett's Familiar Quotations was passed around set and everyone had to work his favorite into the film somehow.

Despite all the flaws, I can't blame Guy Ritchie. After all, how could anyone create a complex con story, full of twists and red herrings, with the wife nagging about Kabbalah classes.

Grade: D