Haggisboy
19-04-2006, 02:03 AM
Fans of film noir and Quentin Tarantino will not be disappointed by Lucky Number Slevin (http://www.slevin-movie.com/), Hollywood’s latest serving of snappy dialogue and plot twists.
Directed by Paul McGuigan and featuring a smorgasbord of A list stars, the film follows the story of Slevin Kelevra, played by Josh Hartnett, a nobody who finds himself embroiled in a deadly case of mistaken identity, having been pegged by two mobster kingpins as a schmuck who owes them some serious dough.
Along the way the viewer is introduced to an endearingly loopy Lucy Liu as the woman across the hall from Slevin’s roommate’s apartment, and Bruce Willis as Mr. Goodkat, a quiet, meticulous hit man.
With Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley holding fort as the two mobsters, this film could easily coast on star power alone. Instead, writer Jason Smilovic heaps on snappy dialogue rarely seen outside of a Tarantino film, and a few layers of plot twists and turns which, while predictable to a certain extent, are no less enjoyable to watch.
Director McGuigan also plays with the story’s sequencing, revealing various stages out of sequence, bringing it all together towards the end in a remarkably entertaining result, mixing in a healthy dose of quirky humour along the way.
Movie goers who have been let down by Hartnett’s performances of late, or have grown weary of Bruce Willis’ vapid, smirk filled camera hogging, will be pleasantly surprised by the performances McGuigan is able to extract. This, my friends, is what a movie should be – entertaining, snappily paced and wonderfully acted. If you see this film, your lucky number will definitely come up.
Directed by Paul McGuigan and featuring a smorgasbord of A list stars, the film follows the story of Slevin Kelevra, played by Josh Hartnett, a nobody who finds himself embroiled in a deadly case of mistaken identity, having been pegged by two mobster kingpins as a schmuck who owes them some serious dough.
Along the way the viewer is introduced to an endearingly loopy Lucy Liu as the woman across the hall from Slevin’s roommate’s apartment, and Bruce Willis as Mr. Goodkat, a quiet, meticulous hit man.
With Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley holding fort as the two mobsters, this film could easily coast on star power alone. Instead, writer Jason Smilovic heaps on snappy dialogue rarely seen outside of a Tarantino film, and a few layers of plot twists and turns which, while predictable to a certain extent, are no less enjoyable to watch.
Director McGuigan also plays with the story’s sequencing, revealing various stages out of sequence, bringing it all together towards the end in a remarkably entertaining result, mixing in a healthy dose of quirky humour along the way.
Movie goers who have been let down by Hartnett’s performances of late, or have grown weary of Bruce Willis’ vapid, smirk filled camera hogging, will be pleasantly surprised by the performances McGuigan is able to extract. This, my friends, is what a movie should be – entertaining, snappily paced and wonderfully acted. If you see this film, your lucky number will definitely come up.