A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The legendary Oliver Reed plays Vito Cipriani, vice-governor of an Italian penitentiary. Some very bad men kidnap his gorgeous young wife Anna (Agostina Belli) in order to force him to release one of his prisoners. That prisoner is lifelong crook Milo Ruiz (Fabio Testi), who claims to have no idea who these men are, or why they should want him free. Vito and Milo will end up forming an unlikely duo as they work to stay one step ahead of the villains and secure Annas' freedom."Revolver" is not really an action movie, but more of a Eurocrime drama, somewhat slowly paced but not uninteresting. It gets most of its juice out of the give and take between the two "buddies". It does introduce political / social themes towards the end, trying to make the point that there are bigger issues in the world than the welfare of individuals, whether they're an innocent like Anna or a common thief like Milo. The plot is ultimately a little convoluted, but entertaining characters like Milo, Vito, mobster Michel Granier (Frederic de Pasquale), and the helpful Carlotta (Paola Pitagora) help to maintain ones' attention. There's also the benefit of fine location work and a typically wonderful Ennio Morricone soundtrack.Study Italian actor Testi shows some charisma as the amiable Milo, who takes his fair share of physical punishment. (To the point where you can't help but be amused when he finally gets to dish some out.) The supporting cast is fine, but many eyes will likely remain on Reed, who is compelling. You can't help but root for him, although he is the kind of hero who resorts to violence to get what he wants.Perhaps most interesting is the unexpected ending, which is downbeat and cynical. It does help to make "Revolver" at least somewhat memorable.Seven out of 10.

Oliver Reed rages at most of Italy and some of France and with good reason - his hot young wife has been kidnapped! He's the warden of a prison in Milan and someone wants him to release Milo (Fabio Testi) for reasons unknown. Even Milo doesn't seem to know why he's being released, no matter how many time Reed beats him up. Maybe it has something to do with that high profile assassination at the start of the film? But then, what does that have to do with that rock star guy?Reed has to break some rules to get Testi out, but this is no simple case of doing a swap and getting his wife back. After beating the crap out of each other several times, they have to learn to rely on each other to get to the truth of the matter, which will take them through the alps while trying to outrun a massive manhunt. There's too many twists to ruin so let's not go any further with the plot and let's talk about Oliver Reed. His red-faced rage at every single person involved in the kidnapping is a joy to behold (and drink fuelled by the sounds of it). He screams, swears, threatens, berates, assaults and even shoots his way through the film, and yet can still be loving and tender to his wife or calm when trying to subdue a suicidal inmate (a quick cameo by Sal Borghese). My favourite bit was when he was trying to convince a work colleague that nothing was wrong when at that exact moment the kidnappers call. The look on his face is priceless.Fabio Testi does good as Milo, a crook resigned to his life of crime who can't think of anything else but a big pay-off. Yet he too has a soft side, seen in the film's strong start as he carries the dead body of a friend along a canal to Ennio Morricone's moving soundtrack. In fact, by the end of the film he's as greatly changed as Oliver Reed's character too, as he does begin to see life outside of crime. Yet another good Euro-crime film that starts off making you wonder why you're being hit with seemingly unconnected scenes that all ties together nicely at the end, if you don't think about it too hard. It's also nearly two hours long so be prepared for that.

Revolver (1973)** 1/2 (out of 4)Oliver Reed plays Vito Cipriani, a cop turned prison warden who gets a phone call on day telling him that his wife has been kidnapped. If he wants to see his wife again he must help Milo Ruiz (Fabio Testi) escape from prison. The warden and convict manage to get away from the cops but soon they are both trying to figure out who kidnapped the wife.REVOLVER has two great lead performances as well as a marvelous score by Ennio Morricone but there are all sorts of issues with the screenplay that keep it from being a much better film. I thought the story itself was rather weak and there just wasn't enough here to carry the 110-minute running time, which led the film to running out of gas towards the final act. Unlike a lot of EuroCrime pictures, this one here doesn't have a great amount of action and instead goes for more character development.I thought the character development was handled quite well and it works because we've got two great actors turning in great performances. Reed is pitch perfect as the warden who soon finds himself willing to turn on his darker side if it means he gets his wife back. I really liked the frantic way Reed played the character and he didn't have to go over the top. Testi gave a very good performance as well and I thought the two had great chemistry together. The screenplay offers both actors some emotional scenes and they both pulled them off wonderfully.As I said, the performances and the brilliant score make the film worth watching but I really wish there was more to the story than what we got. What action scenes are here are well directed by Sergio Sollima. REVOLVER falls just short of being a good film but it's certainly worth watching.

Vito Cipriani (the late great, Oliver Reed) arrives home to make love to his wife afterwards he gets called to quell a prison disturbance. He does, but upon returning home he finds his wife missing. He receives a call ordering him to release a small time crook if he wants his wife back alive. He does, only to kidnap the crook to assure that he gets his wife back.The only other film I saw of Director Sergio Sollima was "Run, Man, Run" which I enjoyed immensely, and I'm glad to say that I enjoyed this one as well. Oliver Reed is good in it, lots of action, and it's a pretty tight thriller. It didn't hurt that I didn't see the ending coming, that's very rare, so it's always a welcome surprise.My Grade: B Blue Underground DVD Extras: a 14 minute spoiler heavy featurette; Poster and stills gallery; Talent Bios; 2 radio spots; and both the international and USA Theatrical trailers