Director Guy Ritchie assembles another crew of outlandish criminal characters, though this time they’re pawns in what is meant to be a philosophical treatise on ego and conscience. Ritchie means to be deep here, yet he’s never seemed so shallow. Jason Statham stars as a con man looking for revenge against a ruthless gangster (Ray Liotta), while Vincent Pastore and Andre Benjamin appear as the nearly literal angel and demon on Statham’s shoulders. Ritchie has concocted some slick voiceover work, especially in an entertaining scene of Liotta arguing with himself. Too often, however, Revolver reeks of a filmmaker trying to bolster his artistic credibility. I’m afraid the movie won’t provide the ego-stroking Ritchie needs.
