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Lucky Number Slevin
the one line review:
tricky dicky whodunnit sorta thing
the overview
I really like Josh Hartnett, he's got a boyish charm. In 40 Days and 40 Nights he was amiable and has since done more risque things such as Sin City. Even Black Hawk Down was worth watching. Then there's Lucy Liu. My experience of her was solely from Ally McBeal and Charlie's Angels. Moderately fine, but nothing to write home about. In this though, DAMN. Hot. Simple.
the plot:
Slevin (Hartnett) goes to stay with a chum of his in New York, only to be apprehended by two big thugs and accused of being someone he's not. Despite trying to tell them that he isn't who they think he is, they insist he is who they think he is and tell him that he must perform the murder of the son of neighbouring warlord's son. Slevin must make some decisions (with the assistance of Lindsey (Liu)) before it's too late.
the verdict:
That is quite possibly the most simplistic description of this film possible. Needless to say it's a lot more complicated than that, but to be honest, I don't want to spoil it. The plot is split in to lots of mini-themes with at least three (if not more) different character sets.
Hartnett is great as the mis-identified young lad who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
And Lucy Liu. Holy cow. She plays the perfect quirky girl next door role in this. She's stunningly gorgeous and really quite sexy too. Amazing. This film is worth watching just for her.
Ultimately, there's a massive twist in the tale. Unfortunately the twist was a little too obviously going to happen for my liking, and the manner in which the events that unfold in the film are explained seem to be given up too easily, that is, the film spends a lot of time setting up the plot, setting up the big twist, and then all of a sudden you're just told what's going on. For this type of film, I would have expected to be strung along a bit more. Even the ending was fairly predictable.
Having said all that, this film is definitely worth watching. It's a streaky 5*, my gut instinct was to give it 4, but this is definitely better than a lot of the other 4's here. So it gets it by default. But there's a little bit of everything in here for you. Lots of guns and violence, lots of twists and "what the fuck is going on" type action. And lots of comedy, quick talk and, lest I forget, a really fit bird.
Definitely rent this flick.
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