"Slevin" is more talk than action, but it surely entertains

Rating: 7/10 (1 January 2008)

"Lucky Number Slevin" comes out firing, but instead of bullets, you get a barrage of witty lines. While the movie is not dismissible, it certainly doesn't measure up with its other smooth-talking crime movie counterparts and would be better served up with some more action and less conversation as Elvis would put it.
"Slevin" rolls deep with a killer cast. If Hartnett, Willis and Liu weren't enough to bring in viewers and impress them, Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley help add more intrigue where the plot often meanders. Only Kinglsey could make a rabbi-turned-mob boss character seem interesting and not simply laughable. After all, if you're going to make a film that's more about the exchange of words than punches, you'd best have the right people delivering them.
"Slevin" isn't devoid of appropriate gun-wielding fare, it simply opts for only showing characters pulling guns, people dropping and then cutting to the next scene. There isn't even enough time to think about suspense. There seems to be a "say something witty or die" attitude in the script. McGuigan's fast-paced directing style accommodates this motto nicely. There are a lot of interesting shots and the constant use with varying length flashbacks seem more effective than redundant.
Basically, the film takes too much time trying to outsmart you plot-wise or smooth-talk you to death, either that or it simply pulls the trigger so it can smooth-talk again. enough so that it can't really become anything special or more than entertaining.