Film Review: Lucky Number Slevin

"Bruce Willis... doing what he does best..."

Lucky Number Slevin (18)
Dir. Paul McGuigan

Reviewed by Matt Adcock


Do you feel lucky? So there I was in New York, I’d gone to stay with my friend Nick because I was having a very bad day but little did I know that almost as soon I arrived, things would get a whole lot worse…
On the plus side I met this cute girl (Lucy Liu), she’s fun and sparkly, good with the witty one-liners and not averse to getting physical. On the down side I was mugged, abducted, forced to kill a mobster’s son, and saddled with the massive gambling debts of my ‘pal’ Nick who was nowhere to be found…
If you can forgive Lucky Number Slevin its stupid title, what you basically have is a tasty case of North By Northwest mixed with Pulp Fiction and blended with Revolver. This is a fun crime con caper with mistaken identity and crunching violence at its core. If you saw the excellent ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ last year you’ll have some idea of what to expect... guns, double crossings, wise cracks and tension.
Sir Ben Kingsley (called ‘The Rabbi’ because, well, he is a Rabbi) and Morgan Freeman (known only as ‘The Boss’) are the heads of two powerful crime syndicates, each vying to be the new King of New York. Once they were on the same team but now it’s war between these two. It all goes back to a drugged racehorse but it ends with an impressive Kansas City Shuffle – if you don’t get me, you just need to go see it.
Josh Hartnett does an okay job as the put upon hero Slevin but star of this show is Bruce Willis who delivers one his coolest ever performances in a role he was born to play – the unstoppable world class assassin Mr. Goodkat. Goodkat is so cool that he deserves his own film spin off film series, after all, how could you not love moustachioed Brucie with a mullet!?
Brit director Paul ‘Gangster No. 1’ McGuigan shows that he can mix slick action with multiple red herrings in a genuinely amusing and gripping film that will make you flinch at the violence but keep you rapt by the fun predicament of its players.
Of course nothing is as it seems but with great dialogue, cleverly misleading flashbacks and a satisfying wrap up – Lucky Number Slevin is the one to put your money on this week.

Darkmatt Rating: öööö (more fun than you'd imagine, more violent probably too)

Darkmatters: H O ME