A Very Twisted Revenge Thriller

Rating: 8/10 (8 March 2014)

"Lucky Number Slevin" is a stylish revenge thriller with an incredible number of twists, a high body count and a collection of characters who are almost all totally amoral. Its strongest feature is its script which is sharp, witty and extremely funny with lots of quick-fire dialogue that perfectly complements the fast-moving pace of this highly entertaining movie. The Hitchcock and Tarantino influences are very apparent throughout and the combination of a mistaken identity story with colourful anecdotes and amusing banter provides plenty of humour, suspense and intrigue.
When two strangers meet in an almost deserted airport waiting area, the man in a wheelchair tells a younger man a story about an ordinary guy at a racetrack, twenty years earlier, whose decision to put money on a horse which was supposed to be a sure-fire winner, led to his own violent demise and the deaths of his immediate family. After completing the story, the wheelchair-bound raconteur suddenly gets up and kills the younger man.
A short time later in New York City, Slevin Kelevra (Josh Hartnett) is staying at his friend's apartment because, after having come to visit Nick Fisher, he'd found the door unlocked and Fisher had disappeared. In a conversation with Nick's neighbour Lindsey (Lucy Liu), he explains how recently, he'd experienced a lot of bad luck, including losing his job, finding his girlfriend in the act of cheating on him and getting mugged. More bad luck then follows when a couple of heavies who mistake him for Fisher, take him to meet a gangster called The Boss (Morgan Freeman) who demands that he repay a huge gambling debt. The Boss then explains that his son had recently been killed and as he believes that his rival The Rabbi (Ben Kingsley) was responsible, he would be prepared to overlook the gambling debt if Slevin would agree to assassinate his rival's son.
Slevin's decision about what to do next is made easier shortly after when a couple of The Rabbi's heavies (who also mistake him for Fisher) take him to their boss who demands repayment of another large gambling debt. Slevin agrees to carry out the hit for The Boss but there's also a hit-man called Mr Goodkat (Bruce Willis) who strangely seems to be working for both gangsters and is under orders to eliminate Slevin after he's killed The Rabbi's son. When Slevin subsequently carries out his contract for The Boss, a connection between Slevin and Goodkat is revealed and the two men surprisingly go on to capture the two gangsters before a series of additional twists and revelations (including the relevance of the anecdote that was told at the airport) follow.
A wonderful cast of very talented actors who genuinely seem to be having a great time add enormously to the enjoyment of watching this movie. Josh Hartnett perfectly displays the reactions of a man who's faced with some terrifying situations but also weirdly suffers from a condition which leaves him free from worry or any other troubling preoccupations and Bruce Willis is great as the mysterious, smirking hit-man. Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley are on form as the crime lords who used to be partners and Lucy Liu is scintillating in her supporting role as a funny James Bond fan who also works in a mortuary.
Considering the convoluted nature of the plot , director Paul McGuigan also merits recognition for the slick way in which the action is presented and the level of clarity that's brought to a tale that, in the wrong hands, could so easily have degenerated into a confusing mess.