Not At All What You're Expecting, "Lucky Number Slevin" is a Modern Classic

Rating: 8/10 (12 May 2012)

"Lucky Number Slevin" is a film I'd only known about in name for years. I'd wanted to see it for years, but because I had no idea what it was about, I never took the time to see it. Besides Bruce Willis being in it, I had no background information to go off of when I rented it.
The film is about Slevin, a normal everyday guy who goes to visit his friend Nick Fisher in New York. When Slevin is mistaken for Nick by two rival gangsters, the Boss and the Rabbi, he has a double ultimatum issued: to get $33,000 dollars for the Rabbi, and to kill the Rabbi's son for the Boss. With the help of Nick's neighbour Lindsay, her and Slevin try to figure out what all is happening and how to get Slevin out of his predicaments. That's about as far as I can get into the plot without spoiling the hell out of this movie. Believe me, this is one of those flicks where if I spoiled it, you'd hate me forever.
Josh Hartnett plays Slevin. You instantly like this guy. He's a relatable, funny, wise ass, down-on-his-luck guy. Everything he says is either funny or very intelligent. One of my favorite tidbits is when Slevin questions how the Rabbi can be a religious man and a gangster, without conflicting his religion. It's little bits like this that really make you like his character.
The rest of the cast is also great. Morgan Freeman plays the Boss. I don't even know what to say, it's Morgan Freeman being awesome, what more do you want? Ben Kingsley plays the Rabbi. I've never been a big fan of Kinsley, especially of late, but I thought he was great in this film. He does the Jewish accent perfectly and it sets him apart from practically every other part he's ever played, where I always think of him as "that British guy". As for Lucy Liu, she's kind of just there, but her character is still very likable. When she starts talking Bond trivia, that's when I was in nerd heaven. Seriously, if I ever meet a chick who knows every actor who ever played Ernst Stavro Blofeld, I'll marry her on the spot.
"Lucky Number Slevin" is a film that was obviously inspired by Quentin Tarantino's work, mainly "Pulp Fiction". It has all the makings of a Tarantino film: complicated, intelligent and fast dialogue used to discuss such simple topics, constant references to classic cinema, non-linearism, and characters overlapping into each other's stories. It's a great formula that I wished was used a bit more often, but I'm glad it's saved for films that really deserve to use it.
"Lucky Number Slevin" is a great film. With some Tarantino-esque flare and some great characters, you'll definitely enjoy this, especially if "Pulp Fiction" is up on your list of 'Best Crime Films Ever', in which case, this movie will probably join that list.