Review: Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN (2006)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
RATING: One star
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
RATING: One star
Just when you thought neo-noir Tarantino knock-offs were on the way
out, they come back in. And just when you thought that referencing old
movies in dialogue that sounds suspiciously Tarantinian was on the way
out, it comes right back in. Of course, "Lucky Number Slevin" doesn't
suffer for those reasons alone - it is also stultifyingly dull.
The occasionally boring, pallid Josh Hartnett plays Slevin, an unlucky
guy who gets punched in the face by a mugger and seems to forget that
a dress code in the New York City streets doesn't entail wearing only
a towel around your waist. Slevin is visiting his friend Nick in New
York, except Nick is not home so Slevin lets himself in. Nick's
inquisitive neighbor (Lucy Liu) is wondering what is behind Slevin's
towel! Oh, yeah, and she loves James Bond movies and can quote them
(Tarantino coming in to the mix again). Slevin's lack of luck becomes
clearer when he is mistaken for Nick by some hoods. It turns out that
Nick owes $96,000 dollars to two rival crime lords, the Boss (Morgan
Freeman) and the Rabbi (Ben Kingsley). In the only nice twist in the
movie, the crime lords live across the street from each other's
penthouses! Slevin's dilemma is worsened when the Boss says he can
forget the gambling debt owed if he does a job for him - kill the
Rabbi's son! The Rabbi asks for a different favor. But then why the
hell is a world-class hitman (Bruce Willis) needed? Maybe because the
assassin will kill Slevin whom everyone thinks is Nick. The mind
boggles and wiggles and, quite frankly, it is hard to care because
you've seen it all before, except not with such a lack of humanity.
"Lucky Number Slevin" is movie that closes its hands at the end and
when you open them to decipher its meaning, it comes up empty. Or
maybe it release two flipping birds at the audience. I've seen movies
like "Lucky Number Slevin" and two come to mind that are far superior
in every respect and are fresher and introspective - "The Usual
Suspects" and "The Limey." "Usual Suspects" had an ending that just
barely negated the entire movie you watched - it was pure trickery and
sleight-of-hand but it was entertaining and memorably acted. "The
Limey" is full of flashbacks and flashforwards and had a powerful
ending that enriched the neo-noir, thriller mechanics of its story
(and it had Terence Stamp to boot). "Lucky Number Slevin"
has...nothing. It is a movie dependent on style and numerous shoot-
outs and pop-culture discussions on Hitchcock, "The Shmoo" and James
Bond than anything else. Once the plot becomes apparent, the ending
(which is technically foreseeable) is not a cheat. But director Paul
McGuigan seems to think he is more clever than he really is. All the
flashbacks and flashforwards do not indicate anything that you don't
already know - it is superfluous decoration. And Hartnett's Slevin is
so insufferably inert that it is hard to care about his dilemma, or
lack thereof. And when the Rabbi discusses the mistaken identity plot
of "North By Northwest," I became very angry, knowing that the
filmmakers were trying to link this overproduced mess to a Hitchcock
classic.
Hartnett is not someone I would wish for more leading parts in, though
he comes alive in the latter sections of the film. Morgan Freeman and
Ben Kingsley have seen better days. Lucy Liu is always a sweet
presence on screen but she is nothing more than an annoyance after a
while. As for Bruce Willis, he is a consummate actor on screen but
this is a part that is far below his acting capability. Reliable
Robert Forster appears out of nowhere and basically explains the plot
(which needs no explaining) in the same way he explained Norman
Bates's psychosis in the "Psycho" remake. Talk about references!
So forget the bland coolness of "Lucky Number Slevin" completely - it
is a monotonous and repetitive waste of time. Have yourself a grand
time at the movies by watching "North By Northwest" or "The Limey" or
"The Usual Suspects." You won't mistake them for "Lucky Number
Slevin."
For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at:
http://www.geocities.com/faustus_08520/Jerry_at_the_Movies.html
BIO on the author of this page at:
http://www.geocities.com/faustus_08520/index.html
Bookmark/Search this post with:
(Opinions and other statements expressed by posters to public Usenet groups, users and third parties are theirs alone, not opinions of FLiXER.com. Content created by third parties is the sole responsibility of the third parties and its accuracy and completeness are not endorsed or guaranteed. The FLiXER web site and third parties may provide links to web pages, web sites, and various resources or locations on the web. FLiXER.com has no control over the information you access via such links, does not endorse that information, and shall not be responsible for it or for the consequences of your use of that information.)
