It's OK if you like that sort of thing

Rating: 7/10 (29 January 2008)

Lucky Number Slevin (2006), directed by Paul McGuigan, is a crime movie where nothing is what it seems to be. Josh Hartnett plays Slevin Kelevra, who gets off a bus, gets mugged, ends up at a friend's apartment, meets Lindsey (Lucy Liu), and gets kidnapped. That all happens in the first ten minutes of the film, so none of this constitutes a spoiler. As the movie progresses, we're introduced to Morgan Freeman as The Boss, Sir Ben Kingsley as the Rabbi, and Bruce Willis as the professional assassin, Mr. Goodkat.
Most of the movie involves people thinking that Slevin is someone else, demanding money from Slevin, threatening his life, and punching him in the stomach to emphasize the seriousness of their demands. Slevin responds with James Bond-like quips. Lucy Liu's character is--I believe--described as a "coroner." I think they mean that she's a pathologist, although I don't think she'd be living in her modest apartment if she were an M.D. Anyway, she's as cute and witty as can be, so no one notices or cares.
The film didn't deliver much, considering the star power invested in it. Still, it wasn't boring, the acting was professional, and it worked well on the small screen. It's OK if you like that sort of thing.