"Lucky Number Slevin" is an unlucky draw

From the hot twist on the word "Seven," this movie looked like an intelligent, well thought-out action film packed with enough explosions to keep the guys cheering, and enough spice to keep the girls from rolling their eyes. Unfortunately, it does neither. Besides having a cool name, "Lucky Number Slevin" fails to impress, trying to bring sharp wit and humor to a plot that ultimately fails. It's sad that with big-name stars such as the adorable Josh Hartnett, the classy Lucy Liu, and the bold Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman, the movie was still disappointing.

"Lucky Number Slevin'

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The plot, which was actually well-developed, wasn't so much to blame for the failure. It takes the audience to New York City, where it follows a man named Slevin (Harnett) who is trapped into killing the son of a gang leader, the Rabbi, by order of the Boss (Freeman), another gang leader, unless he can pay the Boss $96,000. On a separate occasion, Slevin also owes the Rabbi another $30,000, all because the gang leaders mistake him for someone named Nick Fisher. In the midst of paying people money and shooting up the city of New York, Slevin gets cozy with his next-door neighbor Lindsay (Liu). To further complicate things, Slevin also has two nosy cops following him around the two streets where the movie takes place, interrogating him for showing up in the same place a few times too many. All this takes place in three days.

Though the plot itself sounds intriguing, somewhere among the many, many, many bullet wounds, gun shots, body guards, random sex scenes and broken noses (Hartnett's nose was broken at least four different times), the meticulously-helmed story and script were lost. The movie opens up with five brutal murders, perfectly accompanied by sound effects of slashing, tearing of flesh, and groans of pain. These same scenes are repeated many times throughout the movie, interrupting the flow of the story, and forcing the audience to pointlessly witness the same gore over and over again. The few great lines sprinkled throughout the story were immediately forgotten after yet another dead body.

The ending was another big disappointment. After the story was told and the real culprits discovered, their deaths were boring compared to the many painful shootings the movie revolved around. The lack of a final, explosive ending left the audience dissatisfied.      

Director Paul McGuigan tried to bring the story to life, mainly by presenting the plot in the new Hollywood fashion of not telling the whole story, but this method does not engage the audience as well as it could have. Overall, less violence would have helped the message come across more effectively. Perhaps one less dead body would have helped make this a more satisfying film.

All in all, "Slevin" is a waste of two hours. It only reminds audiences that the world is a sad, twisted place. With over a dozen murders that two guys get away with without the least bit of investigation from the police, the movie leaves the audience with nothing but a pessimistic view of our justice system. For a better presented plot and great action with less gore, try renting "Ocean's 11." It's a shame; Josh Hartnett was oh-so-cute.