Fun but overplayed at times....

Rating: 6/10 (9 April 2006)

I REALLY wanted to like this movie. In fact I shouldn't say I didn't like Lucky Number Slevin, because I did. Instead I should say I expected better after reading the reviews and watching the trailer for it. A couple of key elements hold Lucky Number Slevin together so we will start with those. The script is amazing. The writing and dialog between characters is very well written and is on par with this year's "V for Vendetta" (which also had a very well-written script). Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu played much better than expected and earn some credit in my book since I haven't seen them impress me much in the past. Also, the chemistry between Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley was outstanding and the scenes they were in were masterfully written. With that said there are to many flaws present to give this movie higher than a 6. First and foremost is Bruce Willis. It seems to me he is a hit and miss kind of guy. He hit big with Sin City and missed big with Lucky Number Slevin. Though his dialog was nice, he didn't portray his role the way I think it was written and instead acted bland and boring. Realizing that assassins most likely aren't the most dramatic people on earth, I bring forth the idea that he is supposed to be some sneaky ghost of a man. He is supposed to be creepy and slide in the shadows, and Bruce Willis just didn't pull off that vibe to me. Also, the "twist" in the movie wasn't all that good and seemed like a generic way to end the film. Also I was surprised IMDb didn't put a main genre of this as comedy, since most of it was obviously intended to be comedic. In fact, most of it is comedic up until the last 20 minutes or so. It tries to be something sneaky like the usual suspects, but just fails to enthrall me. It takes itself like the best movie this year, when really I'd rather watch Slither. Good effort by the screenplay writer though and Josh Hartnett deserves his props for sure. 6/10