What I'm Watching: "Lucky Number Slevin"

The Weinstein Company

Why I watched it: I liked the cast and it has always had my curiosity. At the time it was released, it was marketed as a slick, fast, gritty action movie with a touch of comedy likened to Guy Ritchie's slew of London underground-crime movies. I'm definitely a fan of Ritchie's work and Sir Ben Kingsley (even though not pictured above) has always sparked my interest because of his wide range of roles and he can often pick some great stuff. The presence of Morgan Freeman and Bruce Willis definitely adds to the appeal but I usually know what to expect from them. I'm not very familiar with Josh Hartnett  although he's definitely recognizable. I really only think of 30 Days of Night when I see him, which does not bode well on his behalf (turrrible movie).

What I thought: As far as the feel and tone goes, it seems like Lucky Number Slevin tried to go for a mixture of The Usual Suspects and Smokin' Aces. It creates an obvious mystery like both films do but does not get too deep into the violence and grit like "Aces". The comedy factor holds up pretty well through most of it like "Aces" but then at the end it suddenly gets super serious and even slightly disturbing which is a major change. It tries out some interesting story-telling techniques to 'play' with its audience that would've worked a lot better if it hadn't given away so much in the beginning. I also wanted to know more about Kingsley and Freeman's characters and more background. It was like an introduction to a series of movies and was too neatly wrapped up at the end. But for the most part, I was surprised and enjoyed myself and it even caused me to think more than usual with most action movies which definitely puts it above average.

Should YOU watch it: If you like movies like "Aces", "Suspects" and that mixture of comedy and violence, I would suggest it. If you follow it well, nothing will really surprise you that much, but it's still a pretty good piece of film-making.