Plot Twists... plot twists... and yes, more plot twists.

Rating: 8/10 (10 July 2006)

I have checked many of the other reviews before deciding to write this one and, like any other movie out there, some hated it and some loved it. I am going to do my best to give everyone a better understanding of the film without actually giving away all the fun of the film.
First off, anyone who says the characters were boring obviously wasn't watching the film all that much. Perhaps they were boring because you were making out with your girlfriend or perhaps they were boring because you just don't like a particular actor, who can say really. I must agree that much of the dialog was "Gilmore Girls"-esquire while still being of it's own style. It was rapid, witty, and occasionally unrealistic, but that never took away from the movie. Even from the early parts of the movie, the director made sure that the character was just naturally fast talking. I am sure some of you have friends who can babble their way into oblivion and never really even notice the difference.
The film is a bloody mess of murder and mayhem with every genius and idiot in the audience scratching their noggins on what the hell is actually going on. I was that way when I first saw it. Dead guy, dead guy, dead guy, and more dead guys. What is the point of all this murder? And, at first, there was no answer to that question, but an answer does come later in the film. That's why it's there, to keep in the back of your mind until the climax where it all makes sense.
The basic premise of the whole film is a wild and crazy mistaken identity crisis that proves that some people really need to pay more attention to who they are bringing into their house. Especially people who are paranoid about getting killed at any point. That was one little plot hole that confused me, but for the sake of trust toward a little assassin played by Bruce Willis, I suppose it was plausible.
Josh Hartnett (Sp?) plays the 'victim' in this caper. He's a self-proclaimed unlucky fellow who finds himself chilling in his old friends apartment when everything goes haywire. While he is there, dressed in a mere bath towel, the sexy Lucy Liu who plays his ol' buddies' neighbor Lindsay, comes walking over for some sugar. Both characters create excellent chemistry while trying to figure what the hell happened to Nick (Lucy's neighbor/Josh's friend) and dealing with their obvious attraction toward each other. My first opinion of Josh Hartnett when he came to the big screen was something to the effect of "oh great, another teen idol that girls are going to wet their panties over" and for awhile I was right. Even so, he had raw talent that was more than obvious and it seems that he is getting better and better with each movie he does. This movie was no different. His performance was something of an eye opener for the young actor.
On to the gangsters: Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley. Now, I first saw that name, Kingsley, and though: "Holy sh!t! Gandhi is back!" except for the fact that Gandhi now turned gangster. Kingsley brought an interesting perspective of a gangster who was getting too old to be very effective, yet still with balls that won't be broken easily. His performance all the way til the end of the movie made me constantly think "this is an old school bad a$$" and I am sure if he was able to show those colors, he would have. Morgan Freeman, mind you, I am a little biased towards him since I have been a fan my entire life, was incredible as usual. He has always brought new life to certain characters that may never have been if played by someone else. He was a true to heart a$$hole with very little care for anything save for himself (and in this case, his son).
Bruce Willis, well, he did his Willis thing as the other reviewer aptly said. He was the assassin with, at least from my perspective, a heart of gold. People were confused on why he let the kid live, but I wasn't so confused. Say you are a cold-hearted killer hired to kill a child who had no part and no knowledge of any thing that would cause someone to kill you. Even cold hearted killers aren't mindless idiots who just pull the trigger when ordered to. I guessed this because of his name: Mr. Goodcat. If anyone knows how cats act, they will understand that orders are something that cats know nothing about. They go off basic instinct and a quiet sense of affection when it suits them best. Throughout the movie you gain an assumption that perhaps these two gangsters did something to Goodcat that made him a little less interested in working for them. I was guessing it was some back story that was never told, but should have been to give a bit more credibility to his motives.
All in all, the movie had great style with many scenes that give you a headache because of the crazy wallpaper. If I were to live in any of these places these characters lived in, I would have killed myself. There were a few plot holes, but what movie doesn't have those, and certainly they weren't large enough to throw a fit over. The performances were great, the dialog was witty and entertaining, and the climax leaves you breathless (no pun intended). I recommend it to anyone who likes a lot of blood, a lot of violence, witty dialog, and twists that keep you guessing. If you are a Freeman fan, you will love this movie on that principle alone.