Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2006)

In New York, when the unlucky newcomer Slevin (Josh Hartnett) arrives in the apartment of his friend Nick Fisher for a leisure time, he is mistakenly taken as being his friend, who debts money to two powerful bosses of the criminal world. He is pressed by The Boss (Morgan Freeman) to kill the gay son of The Rabbi (Sir Ben Kingsley), as a payback for the death of The Boss's son. Nick's next door neighbor Lindsay (Lucy Lui), who works in the morgue, tries to help Slevin and they fall in love for each other. Meanwhile, the cold-blood killer Mr. Goodkat (Bruce Willis) is mysteriously helping both crime lords, while Slevin is also pressed by Detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci), who is chasing The Boss and The Rabbi. In the end, revenge is a dish best served cold.
"Lucky Number Slevin" is a surprisingly great movie directed by Paul McGuigan, the director of the good "Wicker Park", the excellent "The Reckoning" and the underrated "Gangster No. 1". Many readers may not be familiarized with his name, but he is an excellent young director. The story and the screenplay have many plot points in the end and pays a great homage to Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest". The story is funny, gore, and has great moments, and I believe that intelligent viewers that can understand non-linear screenplays will love this film. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Xeque-Mate" ("Check-Mate")