A former cop is released from prison after serving a two-year sentence for corruption. She took the fall for a small group of corrupt people and they promised her an apartment and a large sum of money in return. But when she’s released, no one is around, and now she’s furious. She wants her apartment and her money.
I have to say, this movie lost me with all the names it throws around. Let’s be honest, it’s not easy to follow Korean names if you’re a “cool white devil” like me. So, I struggled to connect some important names with the characters’ faces.
But even though I didn’t completely grasp everything due to the name issue, the movie never became boring. I had to keep watching because in the lead role is South Korea’s best actress and one of my favorite Korean actors, Jeon Do-yeon. She delivers as expected, rocking that sexy giant forehead of hers, which is her trademark—besides her excellent acting, of course.
However, one actor stood out like a sore thumb: Lim Ji-yeon, who played the psycho in the TV series The Glory. She was great in The Glory, but the problem is she brought that same character into this movie. It doesn’t work. She brings too much energy and overreacts to the point where she seems like an amateur, especially in scenes with my favorite “forehead queen,” Jeon Do-yeon. It’s downright embarrassing how wide the gap in acting skill is when they’re on screen together.
Ji Chang-wook, who plays the villain, is pretty good. I’ve seen him in a couple of movies, but I can’t remember if he was good or not. However, he’s great here as a loser villain—tough on the outside, but a little crybaby on the inside when my favorite giant forehead, Jeon Do-yeon, causes a solar eclipse standing over him.
Some short action scenes work well, thanks to Jeon Do-yeon’s cold, calculated character. She’s a tiny woman, so you don’t expect her to survive against hardened criminals. I especially enjoyed the longer scene where she’s in serious trouble—her nemesis blocks the road, and she has to figure out how to get out alive. That scene has plenty of suspense and dark humor.
But this isn’t an action movie at heart. It’s more of a slow burn, and I doubt I’m the only one who had trouble keeping track of all the names. There’s a lot of dialogue, and one character is supposedly helping the protagonist but also works for two other people. So, whose side is this character really on? That becomes interesting.
Revolver isn’t a movie for the masses. It’s a pretty small movie with selfish characters who are greedy and willing to kill to get what they want. It’s a movie for fans of Jeon Do-yeon—like me, the guy who appreciates a giant forehead as much as top-tier acting.