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498 out of 722 people found the following comment useful :- Absolutely Amazing Film, 3 March 2006 Author: sweethoneyhan from Leicester
I really felt i needed to write this comment, because the one just before made me so angry. If the prior user had paid a little more attention to this film he would have noticed how intricate and brilliant the plot was. I don't want to give anything away of this film, but i strongly recommend this film to anyone. I would agree that you spend the first 20 minutes in confusion because of its fast paced plot, but by the end, your sympathies for individual characters are all over the place. ALl i can say is go and see it, and give it your full attention, then you wouldn't be on this website, saying "it doesn't make sense". Enjoy the film, 10/10
274 out of 429 people found the following comment useful :- Wow! Great Noir Caper Flick, 22 January 2006 Author: wmjaho from Park City
2006 Sundance Film Festival From the opening scene in Lucky Number Slevin, you will be straining to keep up. People are getting killed left and right, and it's never clear until the end of the movie how they are all connected. But you know it fits somehow and Scottish director Paul McGuigan (Wicker Park) manages to keep you guessing while firmly grabbing your attention and holding it with hardly a second to take a breath.In the film noir tradition, but with the intense and graphic violence of the Lock Stock and Layer Cake genre, Slevin is really a caper movie, and frankly reminded me more of The Sting than anything else. It dances nimbly from grisly stomach-churning action to clever and light-hearted banter. This could only be accomplished by a truly incredible cast, led by Josh Hartnett in an outstanding performance, great work by Lucy Liu, Bruce Willis doing his thing, and supported by the always excellent Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley. There's even a little time for Stanley Tucci.Liu plays Lindsay, the next-door-neighbor/natural sleuth/coroner/love interest who discovers Slevin in her neighbor Nick's apartment. They mystery that immediately engages her is what happened to Nick, who never shows up. However, plenty of people do show up, mistaking Slevin for Nick, and before long he is neck deep in murder contracts, called debts and warring gang factions. Hartnett plays the role to perfection. I've never seen him this good. He is both convincing and empathetic as a glib, fearless victim of mistaken identity, yet filled with confidence that he can make his plan work.This is a terrific film, assuming you can stomach the bloody violence. The pieces fit neatly together (well, I have one bone to pick with the scriptwriter, but it would be revealing too much to share it). I highly recommend Lucky Number Slevin.
225 out of 351 people found the following comment useful :- A welcome surprise, Slevin has appeared as if from nowhere., 2 March 2006 Author: matt_cub from United Kingdom
Bruce Willis, Sir Ben Kingsley, Morgan Freeman, Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci and Josh Hartnett fill a cast line up every bit as impressive as say, Sin City. Leaving behind the sour taste of Wicker Park, Scottish McGuigan follows the likes of his own Gangster Number 1 with this incredibly cool, at times funny thriller that has somehow sneaked into the cinemas without much of a fuss. Supporting cast includes a very welcome cameo from a Jackie Brown star and a bunch of UK actors imitating their US counterpart's accents to perfection. The pairing of Sir Ben and Freeman alone is worth the price of admission, but this is Hartnett(as Slevin)'s film and perhaps it should not be too surprising that he carries it off effectively. In fact, none of the cast really put a foot wrong and even Lucy Liu is pretty adorable (against type if you believe the all the press).Despite a reasonably confusing series of opening events, Slevin is essentially a straight forward, neat black comedy of errors(mistaken identity for one). The dialogue is at times razor sharp and the action is well shot. The body count climbs steadily as the movie progresses at a cracking pace that never becomes dull. Slevin is thematically similar to a few other choice stories, but like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Slevin should be enjoyed more for the ride and the audience should try not to guess ahead of the plot and let it unfold naturally. There will still be some surprises appearing even for the most avid film fans but like so many thrillers Slevin could be ruined from word of mouth. If it weren't for the warm, familiar feel of similar films, this little gem would be rated higher. Unfairly dismissed by some as confusing, wrongly compared to the legendary Usual Suspects - it's a league apart from the mess that was Revolver and doesn't outstay a welcome.Oh, and Willis gets to call someone a 'f*** head'. Great stuff.
217 out of 366 people found the following comment useful :- keeps you guessing, 12 February 2006 Author: bigstuff2020 from United States
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
If you like movies that make you think you will enjoy this film. Josh Hartnett stars as "Slevin" a guy who is down on his luck and gets mistaken for someone else, or does he...from the moment that the mob bosses get a hold of Slevin the movie turns into one big guessing game. If you are like me you will find yourself thinking and trying to figure out what exactly is going on, but you probably will never understand until all is explained in the brilliant climax ending of the film. I honestly can say that when you walk out of the theater you can say to whomever it is that you went to see this movie with that it was truly a great movie. Now I was lucky enough to have seen this at a screening back in December, and the entire theater started to applaud at the conclusion of the film. If you like mysteries definitely check this one out...and just by the slim chance that the reviews are mixed or not that great I will at least tell you from an avid movie lover to give this a chance and you will not regret it
102 out of 161 people found the following comment useful :- Nice one Bruce. And the rest., 17 July 2006 Author: Mike Hammond from London, England
Impressively cast, well acted, funny and cleverly written dark comedy that is definitely worth a look. Keeping company with legends such as Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley and Bruce Willis (who has been taking more and more great roles recently), Josh Hartnett takes the lead in the title role and plays it well. Freeman and Kingsley are as ever faultless and brilliant. Willis is fantastic in this kind of role. The dark, understated, non-action-blockbuster, big cast thrillers suit him well. Keep it up Bruce. To top off this top-notcher, Lucy Lui is looking gorgeous in her role as the love interest. I look forward to watching more films by Paul McGuigan, a director I'd previously been unaware of. Rent it as soon as you can.
103 out of 173 people found the following comment useful :- Slick, Fun and Very entertaining!!! 10 / 10, 30 June 2006 Author: lprice0901 from United Kingdom
This has to be one of the most enjoyable movies to come out of Hollywood for years. It wasn't any of this Arty-farty crap(like the tragic "Revolver").Its slick, very well acted and great direction. Sharp, funny dialogue that keeps you smiling (think Guy Ritchie, could learn a few things from this movie). Morgan Freeman was great, along with Sir Ben Kingsley. It was great to see Josh Hartnet get a good interesting role for a change. Bruce Willis was, well, just another great performance from him!!. I wont give any thing away about the story.. just watch it and let the Film do the talking, Fans of the Gangster genre will love it!!.
50 out of 70 people found the following comment useful :- witty, fast fasted, stylishly interesting, 30 May 2007 Author: marc-799 from United States
I've never been motivated to leave a review here based on reading others, but the slamming of LNS is beyond accepting. The movie has a style that may, if fact, be borrowed from many other sources, but when it's on the screen, it feels complete as its' own. While the connections are not as surprising as some may say, they are certainly not spelled out for the viewer.The dialog is a bit kitchy, but there in lies the movies' charm. Reviewers stuck on the believability factor of such dialog seem to be limiting themselves to one cine-style that we'd be limiting ourselves to only 5% (I'm making up that number) of accessible films.LNS is a fun thinking mans' thriller that is witty, fast fasted, stylishly interesting and ENTERTAINING!!! That's what I want out of a movie, entertainment.... for those who are looking for reality, read the papers, watch CNN, take a walk in somebody else's' neighborhood. For those who like slick mysteries with interesting dialog rent or buy Lucky Number Sleven
88 out of 151 people found the following comment useful :- Another case of Usual Suspects Syndrome, 11 April 2006 Author: maxwellsmart
Lucky Number Slevin is the latest in a long line of movies that try to outdo everything else out there in the cleverness department and as a result, seems overdone. Ever since The Usual Suspects, it seems that more and more movies have become too desperate to trick or mislead the audience, and it seems that the people making these movies usually fail to realize what made the movies they're trying to emulate effective in the first place. The Usual Suspects was effective in misleading the audience because the plot is free of holes, and there is one well thought out twist that is believable and makes for a great ending. What happens in Lucky Number Slevin is that the twists are too plentiful, and the ones that aren't predictable are often trivial; they end up having very little impact and aren't satisfying. The ending to Lucky Number Slevin is given away very early on. An astute viewer who has become used to seeing this type of movie will pick up on it right away. All that's left to us is to figure out which piece of the convoluted puzzle will be laid down next.The dialogue tries relentlessly to be witty, to varying degrees of success. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's downright tedious. The first scene in which Slevin meets the Rabbi is an example of the high, the first scene with Slevin meeting Lindsey is the low.Director Paul McGuigan emulates Guy Ritchie's stylish visuals to some success, and guides the film about as well as the material allows. The saving grace here is the characters. Slevin, The Rabbi, The Boss and Goodkat all stand out, and Hartnett, Kingsley, Freeman and Willis all turn in commendable and charismatic performances. But by the end, particularly if you've figured out the scam from early on, the movie becomes a bit tiresome, not offering up any real surprises. While Lucky Number Slevin is not without its good points, at the end it seems like another case of a movie trying to be too clever for its own good, another movie with multiple twists that fail to result in any real surprises, and that just aren't that satisfying. As a viewer, the final result is "a been there, done that too many times" feeling, even though the film is not without its moments
72 out of 123 people found the following comment useful :- Layer Cake meets Kiss Kiss Bang Bang meets The Usual Suspects = fresh, well-crafted mix, 13 August 2006 Author: Flagrant-Baronessa from the kingdom of far, far away (Sweden)
My hat's off to you, Paul McGuigan, for carving out this suspenseful and well-sewn together crime-thriller. I was expecting a reprise of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) -- stylish and fun -- and instead got something that was not very reminiscent of anything, but freshly original in its genre. The gangster style feels somewhat like Layer Cake (2004) but is coated with a lot more humour in its writing and performances, making this an even more enjoyable film.The plot is a well-sketched template, but it is not really apparent until the end of the film, when pieces of the puzzle start falling into place The Usual Suspects-style. The only thing you need to know is: Out-of-luck Slevin (Josh Hartnett) loses his job and apartment, gets mugged and finds his girlfriend in bed with another man all on the same day. To top it off, he also gets entangled in a mafia-war between two prominent clans respectively headed by the Rabbi (Ben Kingsley) and The Boss (Morgan Freeman).The two latter heavyweight actors chip in enormously in Lucky Number Slevin, and when they are finally faced (except not really faced...heh) together in a long-drawn shot, and their different screen presences are juxtaposed, it is a scene so extremely powerful and engrossing that you want to kill Josh Hartnett just for interrupting it. Casting him as the lead character was overall just a bad move by McGuigan because he is too corny for an otherwise intelligent film like this.Aside from a clever script then, some other good parts are its rapid-fire dialogue, patient careful use of flashbacks and its all-star cast to shine in little supporting roles. Hartnett is the only thing to truly drag this film down - but I also noticed a lot of interactions, developments and characters weren't really realistic and thereby almost ended up feeling out-of-place. Well, see for yourself. It's still a gloriously entertaining little thriller.8/10
59 out of 100 people found the following comment useful :- Why people don't like this movie is beyond me..., 28 April 2007 Author: Aadam Mahbubani from India
The subject says it all...This is a good, fast paced thriller... It would have been a really good thriller if it were not for the graphic scenes at the start of the movie, but once you get through that and a little bit of the confusion, this movie picks up very well...I don't want to mention any thing about the story, I think there is enough mentioned already at the plot summary and that's all you need to know.But trust me, do not believe people that say this is a bad movie... it is better than the many garbage movies that come out nowadays.. the acting and suspense is solid across the board. Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley are good, but the trump has to be Josh Harnett. He was good.Like I said, the only bad point of this movie are the graphic scenes at the start.. If you approach this movie looking for entertainment, you will enjoy it.
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