Merrick thinks THIS is why Batman has so many issues…
Itchyballs (they have medicine for that, you know?) sent in this review of LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN, a film that…for my money…is destined to fail based on its annoying title alone.
Then again, it’s hard not be at least a little intrigued by a movie that features Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben (still trying to live down BLOODRAYNE) Kingsley, and Josh (“I was in the sleaziest World War II movie ever made!”) Hartnett.
This is how Itchyballs felt…
Let me just give you some background on the types of movie that I enjoy: I love star ensemble pieces like The Usual Suspects, Pulp Fiction, Ocean’s 11, witty action flicks like the first two Lethal Weapons, The Last Boy Scout and dark flicks like Memento and Seven. Long story short: I fuckin’ loved this movie. Lucky Number Slevin has the elements from each of these of movies that I just mentioned and a great time was had. That’s why it’s gonna fail at the box office. More on that later.
In a nutshell, Josh Hartnett’s character is set up by Bruce Willis’ hitman and caught up in a power play between two mob bosses played by Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley. Oh, and it all starts with a horse… Why does all this shit go down? Sorry, no spoilers here. The less you know, the better you’ll enjoy the flick.
I honestly wasn’t expecting much from this movie but 15 minutes in, I was already enjoying myself. The dialogue with its humorous one-liners just got me from the get-go. It has rawness that you barely hear anymore from a typical R-rated movie anymore. It gets a little repetitive but by that time the movie’s already ended.
The script is very tight despite the number of different characters involved. A lot of scenes don’t appear to have any real connection with each other but the fun of the film is how everything brilliantly all comes together. This isn’t like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch where you tend to lose track of everyone especially if you go on a bathroom break. I gotta admit the style of the direction is similar to Guy Ritchie’s but at a faster pace. Paul McGuigan keeps everything moving without overwhelming you. The violence here is spread out but when it hits, it hits hard.
It helps that the cast is great. Bruce is back to form as the world’s deadliest hitman (McGuigan does a great job demonstrating that). He’s the Jackal again but more human and with a nasty ironic sense of humor. He uses the SMIRK to excellent effect (call it a killer smirk). When he says “Trust me, I’m gonna kill someone.” You know someone’s dead. This isn’t his The Whole Nine Yards shit. I never even thought of that movie watching this. Josh Hartnett is a good lead here, cracking wise and playing the laid back slacker who goes with flow no matter how fucked up things get. He’s loose and relaxed compared to those uptight roles he played in Pearl Harbor and Hollywood Homicide. Lucy Liu plays the love interest whose quirkiness makes her endearing. Freeman and Kingsley play the cool understated heavies, they’re fascinating to watch but I wish they were allowed to let loose a little more. They should have been made more like characters that you love to hate. Mykelti Williamson aside from his first scene, is wasted as one of the thugs. It’s fun to see how well this cast interacts well together.
After the movie ended, my friends and I walked out, saying that we’d definitely add this flick to our DVD collections. Sad thing is, I really think that this movie is going to make more money in DVD sales compared to theater sales. Its just one of those “too cool for school” kinda flicks. Despite the caliber of talent at play here, they’re not box office draws. Bruce Willis used to be but he needs a comeback flick to get him going again. Something that is really mainstream. As much as I want it to be this movie, it can’t because it’s not for everyone. Audiences are too dumbed down these days to appreciate this genre of movie anymore. Fuck, the name of the movie alone has probably got people scratching their asses.
Yup, I’m pretty fucking jaded when it comes to movies lately. I loved last year’s line-up of movies: You had Lucas, Spielberg (2x!), Jackson, Nolan et al doing some great work and the overall box office still receded? Don’t give me shit about how quality of product is diminishing, more like the overall IQ of movie audiences is dropping. The irony is that I think that box office is going to pick up this year because of all the brand name movies coming out. I’m not saying the talents involved are hacks but a lotta them will be hiding behind franchises. Few of them take any chances (but I suppose that’s more of a corporate mandate of the studios involved than anything else). New concept movies that rake it in like the Matrix only come like once in a decade, I guess. At least, someone had the guts to put this movie out there.
Anyway, enough of my gripes, I just hope I’m wrong. Hopefully, this movie will become a sleeper hit or become a cult flick (which I hope happens to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, another cool as fuck flick) that does well on DVD.
