A Nutshell Review: Luck Number SLevin

Rating: 10/10 (16 August 2006)

YES! For most parts in the first half of the movie, that's just how the dialogue is gonna get, in some of the banter between characters. However, fret not, the movie is extremely engaging, but only if you hang in there and keep the faith. There are plenty of moments where scenes are just seemingly disparate, but knowing that this is Hollywood, by the time the movie ends, it'll just about explain everything to you as it lays the cards on the table.
Josh Hartnett plays Slevin Kelevra, a man who thought his day could get no better when he lost his job, and got home finding his girlfriend tripping over and another man bending over her, doggy styled. He takes flight and is supposed to meet a friend, but ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Soon enough, he gets unwittingly embroiled in a deadly game of hired guns, between two of the largest crime bosses in town, known as The Boss (Morgan Freeman) and The Rabbi (Sir Ben Kingsley), in gangs formed between racial lines. He's caught in Catch-22, Hobson's Choice and Murphy's Law situations all rolled into one, as engineered by a professional killer called Goodkat (Bruce Willis), and his only consolation in all this madness, is a chirpy neighbour Lindsey (Lucy Liu).
It's a snappy, snazzy movie with a very slick plot, and I'll not discuss any more of the movie, the premise, nor the themes, otherwise it'll be a dead giveaway. Suffice to say that I'm quite impressed by the way the movie unfolded, and how the editing kept certain key scenes under wraps. However, it is difficult to stop eagle-eyed viewers whose brains are working in overdrive, to figure out the entire plot before the midway mark.
The cast provided this movie with the additional power of attraction. Josh Hartnett is sure to draw in his female admirers, and both Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley bring some regality into the picture even though they're playing veteran rival crime bosses. Bruce Willis seemed to be taking on more supporting characters, but still stereotyped back into the usual cop, or killer roles, though his Goodkat character here is uber-cool.
One of the must watch movies of next week, full of genuine fun! Be sure to catch it!