Lucky Number Slevin

Screenwriter Jason Smilovic 'œobviously worships at the temple of Tarantino,' said Rene Rodriguez in The Miami Herald. Lucky Number Slevin is packed with hit men, gangsters, and con artists. But it's also stuffed with so many plot twists that 'œthere's barely any room left over for a story.' It begins promisingly enough. Slevin, played by Josh Hartnett, goes to New York to visit his friend Nick, only to find that Nick has disappeared. Shortly thereafter, Slevin is kidnapped by gun-toting thugs. Mayhem ensues. A film that features Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley as rival mob bosses 'œcan't be all bad,' said John DeVore in The New York Sun. Those two could 'œread a Taco Bell menu and instill a sense of national purpose.' And they don't disappoint here, chewing scenery as 'œonly God and Gandhi can.' But surprisingly, it's the hunky Hartnett who carries the film. Good acting isn't enough to save it, said Stephen Hunter in The Washington Post. The film is so ludicrously bloody that eight people are murdered before the star appears. It's not that violence in movies is inherently bad. Imagine Hamlet without it. But here, there's so much death, so fast, with so little moral import, that it adds up to nothing but 'œan execution-o-rama.'

Rating: R

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