SLevin Reasons Why This Film is Disappointing

Rating: 4/10 (15 April 2006)

1. The script is not as clever as it wants to be. The script is an Elmore Leonard wannabe. It tries to have slick, snappy dialog, but always falls short of the real thing. The basic story is okay, but some of the twists are more contrived than they need to be.
2. The directing is not as slick as it wants to be. Last month's "Running Scared" was a similar type of film and was done much better. "Lucky Number SLeven" is crude by comparison.
3. Great cast, but little screen time. Sir Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman are great, but they are not in the film enough. Bruce Willis is not given much to do but smirk. Stanley Tucci has a small, thankless role. Lucy Lui is great and has the luxury of being the only female character in the film.
4. Josh Hartnett ruins every film he is in, and this is no exception. The movie producers must have thought if they got some really good actors for this film, nobody would notice how bad Josh Hartnett is, but it's the opposite. Having good actors only intensifies how bad Josh Hartnett really is.
5. This film is designed to be a "guy flick," but we see Josh Hartnett in a towel for half the film while Lucy Lui is fully clothed. By doing that, they do not really appeal to anybody.
6. The music sucks and is not memorable.
7. Josh Hartnett ruins every film he is in. I couldn't think of any other reasons, so I thought I would overstate the obvious. It's too bad, because this film had potential, but they really screwed it up. Even so, it will probably make a decent rental.