Review of Lucky Number Slevin (2006) by Michelle S — 13 Nov 2013

Josh Hartnett plays Slevin, a man in the wrong place at the wrong time when he is caught up in a war between two rival gangsters. Clearly inspired by the post modern thrillers of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, Lucky Number Slevin is a smart and sassy if slightly self-conscious revenge story.

Hartnett's character is maybe a bit too much of a smug smart ass for the first half of the film, but as things darkened I liked it a whole lot more. It looks great and although it lacks the subtlety of The Usual Suspects and the like, the quality performances and clever dialogue keeps things interesting.

The weak link was probably Lucy Liu's character who's responsible for one of the more implausible moments of the story but some nice chemistry with her co-star papers over the resulting plot hole.

But these facts only stop it from being a GREAT film, not a GOOD one; Freeman, Kingsley, Tucci and Willis are all great and it is consistently entertaining. Compared to other ironic thrillers, I'd have to say it's not quite as good as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but better than Smokin' Aces.

Smarter and better looking than the average mainstream thriller.