Lucky Number Slevin Reviews

The biggest thing I remember hearing about this film upon it's release was the mentioning of Ben Kingsley's Knighthood on the film poster. This seemed to create quite a stir, as professional credits don't normally include this. It transpired that is was all just a mistake but it overshadowed the film itself, which is a shame as this is quite a tight little mystery/thriller.
Arriving in New York to stay at a friend's apartment, Slevin Kelevra (Josh Hartnett) finds that his friend is missing and owes money to two very dangerous criminals - The Boss (Morgan Freeman) and The Rabbi (Ben Kingsley). Added to which, Slevin finds himself mistaken for his absent friend and soon involved in a lot of trouble with them both. With the help of his friends neighbour Lindsey (Lucy Liu), Slevin tries to clear up the confusion.
I've always been a sucker for films that twist and tease, keeping you perplexed and forcing you to keep up to speed. I like it when the script has actually been given some attention and one that demands the attention of the viewer. This is that type of film. It keeps you guessing and is not without a dark and lightness of touch either. It helps when there's an impressive cast assembled also and each of the performers involved here deliver fine pieces of work. Seeing old hands Freeman and Kingsley play off one another is a particular highlight. Ultimately, it's the convoluted nature of the story that impresses most though. Screenwriter Jason Smilovic and director Paul McGuigan add substance and style to the proceedings and keep you at just the distance from the characters' motivations. However, intricate and clever films also face the danger of becoming too loaded. For the most part, this film is a success but the denouement is a little muddled. For a film of this type to work, it needs to have a pay-off and this does have a satisfactory one. The only problem is, it has one two many. Without revealing too much, the fate of a prominent character seems like it's been tacked on and stinks of studio involvement, letting down an otherwise intricate and cleverly constructed film.
A satisfyingly convoluted crime yarn with an impressive and eclectic mix of actors. However, the unravelling is a major demerit. Well, that and Bruce Willis' ridiculous hairpieces.

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.

Lucky Number Slevin was a pretty action film that I thought didn't deserve the flack it received. I thought that the plot was great and that the cast delivered some good performances. Of course there were things that could have been done better, but for what it is; Lucky Number Slevin is a fun, mindless action film that is very entertaining. The film has a good enough plot, and it most certainly kept me engaged into the film. I thought the film was very entertaining and it was well constructed to deliver good thrills and non-stop action. For what it is, Lucky Number Slevin delivers a good, entertaining 2 hours. This is a good, and I thought it was far better than what most people have said about the film. The film has plenty of twists to keep you on the edge of your seat till the very end. The cast make this film work, and the plot is good enough, however it could have been done a bit better, but for what it is, Lucky Number Slevin succeeds at being an entertaining film that does deliver good action and is very entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and I thought that the cast made this film better than it is, and in the end, this is a good action film that is very well conceived despite its flaws. Lucky Number Slevin is a good film and is a must see for people who are looking for a good action film. Though this isn't the best film, Lucky Number Slevin is entertaining enough for you to have fun. A must see for any action buff. A very enjoyable film with an intricate plot. Non-stop action and thrills await you and this film has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing till the electrifying climax. One of the most entertaining action films ijn recent memory.

At first, the movie's enjoyable but in the last hour, there are so many plot twists and turns that it completely kills the movie. You must understand, I love plot twists, but if there are 70 of them in the end, it kills it. Performances were good though.

Lucky number Slevin is a film which sometimes is too much of an effort. Combining a cast of Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley it will look from a distance like a good film. But wait. It's a gangster movie. Must be even better. It has a newcomer. Great! But it isn't. A very confusing beginning sets the film up as a mystery and suspense, even though the two are different. The film is based around a classic Hitchcock plot maker, the wrong man. But it's not. Without ruining the film for you, a man is killed to make a man look like that man. The film is almost attempting to be like a Hitchcock but using New York as a setting and a horse race gone wrong. In the end the plot is quiet clever but has one of the worst most disappointing endings to a film I have ever seen. Good acting by the cast with Freeman Sir Kingsley stealing the acting credits, playing slightly different roles to their classic stereotype parts. Bruce Willis plays his gun-ho American part and Lucy Liu plays an odd role as the curious george girlfriend of the main character. Hitchcock would turn in his grave if he knew how his plot maker was being used. But I suppose for people who want an easy going film with it's up's and downs may love this film. The Rabbi and the something fighting against each other, the assassination's. It is perfect for those who like blockbuster's but with a certain point of sophistication and a decent plot.
*** 3 Star

A clever crime film with a fantastic set of twists and turns. The dialog and acting are quite good and the over the top style and humor are great additions.

I don't think it's really as bad as the reviews make it out to be...I think it manages to be a pretty decent film, even though it may not be everyones cup of tea

Some entertaining stretches of dialogue. Lots of very original shots to set a noir feel. The first half of the movie is a stressful wrong-man scenario, where the wrong man here is too nonplussed to come to his own defense. I wouldn't have expected Lucy Liu in her role, but she does better than anyone in the movie. Bruce Willis looks like he's doing lazy posing, which is unexpected.

The second half of the movie is a dragged out scenario from recent graduates with a B.A. in The Usual Suspects. A good movie for college graduates who think the game is corrupt and they can run it, like if Bruce Wayne wanted to become the Kingpin of Crime.

I guess it's also a good movie for people who want their murder scenes more snappy, since in both halves, people are murdered in unexpected ways and the camera shows it to us in unexpected ways. By the end, the writers and director burn themselves out and they're just suffocating people in front of us.

Started off quite badly and slowly got better. Not that much better though. The performances from Freeman, Kingsley and Tucci were great and well worth watching. I liked the twists as I really didn't see most of them coming (except the fact that he was the child in Goodkats story). But why did Goodkat have to pretend to shoot Lindsey when no one was around to see and she just got up straight afterwards. That was purely for the audience which is rather annoying as it doesn't have any real plot relevance.

Just as good as the first time I saw it, even knowing the outcome, it was great to look back over.

I love Josh Hartnett in this role, so sarcastically cheeky, can?t keep his mouth shut, the dialogue really made this film and almost had a Tarantino quality about it. This has to be one of my favourite endings of films and it?s so hard not to say what happens, you will just have to watch it.

I think the Director used many influences when making this film, I was reminded of many other films throughout.

A must see dark, comedy thriller.

I really liked this movie it was awesome. A-

Review coming soon..

Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Danny Aiello

DIRECTED BY: Paul McGuigan

A case of mistaken identity lands Slevin in the middle of a war being plotted by two of New York's most rival crime bosses: The Rabbi and the Boss. Slevin is under constant surveillance by relentless Detective Brikowski as well as the infamous assassin Goodkat, and he finds himself having to hatch his own ingenious plot to get them? before they get him.

Rented this movie, watched it, then turned the t.v. on the next day and it was on. Go figure right? Happens to me more then often. Waste of mullah.. LOL.. ANYWAYS...... Loved this movie. Great story, great group of actors with good acting, and a nice little twist. Entertaining and well worth the watch.

A decent, but overrated film that features a golden performance from Sir Ben Kingsley. To bad no one told Josh Hartnett how to act, and Morgan Freeman just seemed like to nice of a guy to be a tough-guy mobster. The twist ending could've been an absolute knockout if it didn't take it one more step to far which wasn't necessary. All in all, a decent movie, but certainly miss-able.

Slevin has two pretty good things going for it; a plot with a few twists and turns, and a great cast. I think that the filmakers were going for a Tarantino-esque feel with the quirky characters, black humor, and oddball dialogue, and while the movie doesn't live up to those lofty heights, it does have a bit of style that gives the overall film a bit of a boost.

I initially only wanted to see this because it had Lucy Liu in it, and she was by far my favorite person in the cast. Damn, that woman is just beautiful, and she proves here that she can tackle almost any kind of role. Having Bruce Willis, Ben Kingsley, and Morgan Freeman in the movie as well makes for quite the nice bonus. They don't have to stretch or work particularly hard, of course, but just their presence here makes the movie more enjoyable.

Even Josh Hartnett handles his character quite nicely. He's the focus of 90% of the scenes, so if he was annoying or poorly cast, then the entire film might have been unwatchable. Luckily, that's not the case.

Don't watch this expecting a shining moment in film history, but it's certainly worth picking up for cheap or from Netflix. Lucky # Slevin is a twisty movie that has the ability to make you chuckle a few times before it's all over.

Unnecessarily convoluted at times, but still pretty entertaining and funny. I expected there to be lots of twists and turns, and I was not disappointed. I actually liked the fact that I didn't see all of them coming. The cast is good, and they give decent performances, but the movie overall is not without its flaws. Still, it's hard for me to totally cast this movie off. It is well deserving of its cult status, and, despite its imperfections, I give it a mild recommendation. B-.

It's not too bad this film but the twist ending isn't as clever as Jason Smilovic thinks it is and it has the worst title ever in the history of cinema!

Impressive movie. Very Tarantino like.

Solid action thriller flick. I like the over the top style with some humor thrown in for good measure.