"My Name's Goodkat. You Can Call Me Mr. Goodkat." --- Mr. Goodkat (Bruce Willis)

Rating: 5/10 (6 November 2006)

"Lucky Number Slevin" (2006)
Directed By: Paul McGuigan
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, & Stanley Tucci
MPAA Rating: "R" (for strong violence, sexuality and language)
I must admit that this is the trickiest review I have had to write thus far. On one hand, "Lucky Number Slevin" is a well-made film, well-acted with just the right amount of gleam and polish. On the other, I just didn't enjoy it. I could only care for one character, Lindsey (Lucy Liu), and she seemed to be a tad underused. The plot uses a few too many cheap twists to keep the audience going and the dialog is overly-intellectual in all the wrong places. I felt as if the entire movie was just an artificial, two-dimensional exercise in style over substance. It was convoluted and deeply pretentious. It was as though the entire movie was made to give the filmmakers an outlet for them to point and laugh at the audience with cheers of, "Ha! We're smarter than you". And, clearly, they are, as I was watching the movie and as I am writing this review right now. Still, I cannot dismiss this movie completely and I will tell you why.
A case of mistaken identity leads Slevin (Hartnett) directly into the middle of a bitter battle between two of the world's most powerful crime bosses: The Rabbi (Kinglsey) and The Boss (Freeman). Detective Brikowski (Tucci) is on the case, constantly trying to decipher just who Slevin is and why he seems to be hanging around with the Boss so much. On top of this, a specialist assassin named Mister Goodkat (Willis) has also been brought in by both crime bosses. Throw in a talkative, but cute-as-a-button coroner named Lindsey (Liu) to act as a love interest for Slevin, a fixed horserace, and a tangled web of suspicion, lies, and deceit, and you have "Lucky Number Slevin". The plot seems as though it could be a fun ride and, to some extent, it is. The problem is that, because the characters, for the most part, are either dull or evil, there really is no one main character to relate to. Who is the bad guy? Well, everybody, except for the aforementioned Lindsey, is. We are meant to be rooting for Slevin, I suppose, but, as his character reveals a huge twist about himself near the end, it is very hard to get on solid ground with him. Everyone else is a crime lord, an assassin, or a mindless goon.
The entire time I was watching this movie, I kept thinking about "Brick"--a movie to which I awarded seven out of ten stars and a letter grade of a B+. If you have not yet read my review, then I suggest that you do, as these films both suffered from the some of the same problems. In both, I felt strangely detached from the characters. Who can care for people that are just hollow shelves of other characters? In "Brick", the other characters were from an old-fashioned noir mystery (much like "The Maltese Falcon", etc.). Here, the characters seem to have fashioned out of those made famous by Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" (a movie that, not surprisingly, is mentioned within the context of the movie). I still maintain my statement (that I made in my review of "Brick") that I respect this technique. Unfortunately, neither of the films did it flawlessly. Both lacked the emotion and the heart of the characters. The end result was a dull, couldn't-care-less kind of feelingand I hate that feeling.
When "Lucky Number Slevin" was over, I was glad--not because it was a bad movie, but because I just didn't particularly care what happened. I had never developed any emotional connections with the characters, aside from Lindsey (I guess I should just say now that, when discussing the characters in a negative manner, I am always excluding her unless mentioned otherwise). All of the characters (please include that implied line here) could have been blown to smithereens by a rocket that could have been fired from Martians and, not only would I not have cared, I would have probably believed that this was highly-plausible--not because it is, but because this movie is good at what it is: a con. It cons you into thinking that this could all be true with its allusions to the film that obviously inspired it (i.e. "North by Northwest") and its self-knowing attitude. It seems to acknowledge the fact that it is completely ridiculous and that seems to make it okay, much like "Scream" did (except without the bitter satire, sarcasm, and the engaging characters). I have no idea what rating to give this movie and yet I know that I must to maintain the format that has been working so beautifully up until this point. If I went on my personal opinion, it would get a solid four. If I went on how effective the movie is, then I would give it a five. Because, it is effective enoughI just resented the effect that it did have. But, as this wasn't a bad movie, I will put aside my personal feelings and award it with an average five.
Final Thought: "Lucky Number Slevin" is an okay watch, even though it lacks engaging characters and has a self-indulgent attitude about itself.
Overall Rating: 5/10 (B-)