![Lucky Number Slevin [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CNz0XHXqL._SL160_.jpg) | |
List Price: $21.93 | | Label: Weinstein Company
Salesrank: 1055
Released: November 18, 2008 |
| Our Price: $9.99 |
| Used Price: $8.35 |
|
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: Blu-ray |
|
Editorial Review:
Set in the New York underworld where nothing is as it seems, Lucky # Slevin is an action-packed, "fun-as-hell roller coaster ride" (Venice Magazine). When down-on-his-luck Slevin (Josh Hartnett) stumbles into a running feud between the city's most feared crime bosses (Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley), he ignites an all-out war. Tracked by a mysterious assassin (Bruce Willis) and distracted by his flirtatious neighbor (Lucy Liu), Slevin must try to cheat death by turning the tables on the gangsters. "If you take the best parts of Pulp Fiction, The Usual Suspects and The Professional, what you get is Lucky # Slevin" (Shawn Edwards, Fox-TV).
Description of Lucky Number Slevin [Blu-ray]:
How boring it is to label a movie Tarantino-esque anymore. The thing is, when it comes to an offering like Lucky Number Slevin, the shoe fits, and the result is anything but boring. Gruesome killings, arid wit, self-reflexive pop culture references, an A-list cast, and style-heavy production values abound, which gives the proceedings an epoxy bond that seals the Q.T. homage factor. Josh Hartnett--who spends a lot of buffed-up time with his shirt off--is Slevin Kelevra, a hapless fellow visiting his New York friend Nick. But Nick has disappeared, which sets off a mistaken-identity thrill ride when two goons grab Slevin (he's in Nick's apartment so he must be Nick) and take him to their crime lord boss, the Boss (Morgan Freeman). The Boss doesn't care about Slevin's wrong-man protests; he just wants the $96,000 Nick owes him. In one of many offers he can't refuse, Slevin has to agree to murder the son of the Boss's felonious arch rival, the Rabbi (Ben Kingsley) or take the bullet himself. But Slevin turns out to be no ordinary patsy. Thrown into the ingeniously designed production, clever plot twists, and academic nods to Bond, Hitchcock, and obscure old cartoons are Lucy Liu as a sexy coroner, Stanley Tucci as an obsessed cop, and Bruce Willis as a wily hit man with his finger in many pots. With so much visual and narrative trickery, there's almost too much to absorb in one viewing of this convoluted jigsaw puzzle of revenge and entertaining mayhem. Lucky Number Slevin isn't quite up to par with similarly brainy thrillers like Memento and The Usual Suspects, but the prospect of seeing it again in order to get your bearings is just as appealing.--Ted Fry
Lucky Number Slevin [Blu-ray] Reviews:
One of the best flicks I'd seen.... 
2009-10-27 - Considering that people like Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) and Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) aren't making movies like this any more, I don't need to tell you how absolutely REFRESHING it is to see that SOMEONE STILL IS.... The incredibly stylized production (a la Scott's set design in Alien/Blade Runner) was in full force and effect here. The incredibly excellent PLOT (another element sorely missing from many of today's movies) plus an especially talented cast, turn this into an A-list piece of material. This movie forever proves my reason for condemnation of the absolute JUNK that's out there, plot-wise. Give excellent actors something to work with, and the result can be electrifying. Studios seem to think that paying the actor an ungodly sum of money will make the movie a blockbuster, but the best of actors can't do anything with EXCREMENT!! They can only give you what's in the plot, and if it sucks, so will the movie. Sorry.. back to the movie...The words "film noir" come to mind. The anti-humor, black comedy stance only increases the level of glee as you watch the characters and the story unfold... but only a LITTLE BIT at a time. You've got to REALLY pay attention to what's going on to get it, and repeated viewings (as one reviewer mentioned) are essential. Add to that the excellent video quality on Blu-Ray and you've got quite a cinematic experience. Just a note, but Bruce Willis gets a lot of grief for not being "that great" of an actor. Trust me, movies like this were MADE for him. Once again, lousy material, lousy result. Look what he was able to do with "The Whole Nine Yards" and that wasn't even all THAT GREAT! Rent or own this today.. you won't be disappointed.
Slevin Help Us 
2009-09-27 - Good action, black humor, and interesting casting are dragged down by an overly convoluted and totally unbelievable plot. The movie is watchable enough but at the end you're saying, yeah, sure, whatever. Missed being good.
Without a Doubt, The WORST Movie I've Seen Since Joining NetFlix!! 
2009-09-16 - MAN #1: "Is this a GOOD movie?"
MAN #2: "By a GOOD movie, do you mean a NOT BAD movie?"
MAN #1: "If I would've meant a NOT BAD movie, then I wouldn't have asked if this is a GOOD movie."
MAN #2: "Don't you agree that a GOOD movie has to be a NOT BAD movie?"
MAN #1: "So this is both a GOOD movie and a NOT BAD movie?"
MAN #2: "With "witty" dialogue like this pasted throughout it, this is neither a GOOD nor a NOT BAD movie."
MAN #1: "So is this a movie that SUCKS?"
MAN #2: "By SUCKS, do you mean is this a movie that is NOT GOOD?"
MAN #1: "If I would've meant a movie that is NOT GOOD, then I wouldn't have asked if this is a movie that SUCKS."
I'll spare you the rest: "YES...This IS a movie that SUCKS!" The above "witty banter" wouldn't normally be annoying if only two characters periodically engaged in it. The problem in Lucky Number Slevin is EVERY CHARACTER TALKS LIKE THIS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MOVIE. Can you say, "Movie written by ONE person who doesn't understand that individual characters are supposed to at least SOUND like they're different people in movie dialogue?!?" Josh Hartnett talks like this...Morgan Freeman talks like this...Lucy Liu talks like this...Bruce Willis talks like this. In fact, you'll want to STUFF COTTON IN YOUR EARS after about the first 10 minutes of this agonizing dialogue. Uggghhh...Just BRUTAL!!
Accompanying the abysmal dialogue are more SMIRKS than should be humanly possible by a cast this small. The actors must've had incentive clauses in their contracts that paid them BONUSES for each smirk. It's amazing that someone didn't sneak up behind one of these A-list actors and slap them on the back, causing a permanent smirk on their face. After all, there's an opportunity at least once every half-minute!
STILL, the movie could've been somewhat salvaged with a decent plot. Instead, we get this: "Guy makes a bad bet at the track and 20 years later a stink-storm is unleashed." Now who among us even gives a crap about a story like that, please raise your hand. The plot also turns on itself in the last 20 minutes effectively nullifying almost everything you've been led to believe for the previous 1-1/2 hours! Is THAT all that's required to write a "mystery" or "thriller" screenplay nowadays?!? If so, then movie audiences have been dumbed-down beyond the point of redemption...
The music score would be hilariously stupid if it didn't exceed that level straight into the realm of PAINFULLY stupid. Imagine listening to an endless loop of music from "The Inspector" in the old Pink Panther cartoons...That's what you get here. It's designed to make you think "you'd better not blink an eye or you're going to miss something!" Instead, I fell asleep at least 3 times trying to watch this 1 hr and 50 min excuse for a movie. I didn't even bother reversing the DVD after the first time when I realized I didn't miss anything except more painful dialogue, plot and The Inspector music...Oh, and at least a couple of dozen SMIRKS!
It's simply AMAZING that a cast like this could be so wasted on an effort like Lucky Number Slevin...Of course Josh Hartnett's talent wasn't wasted since he frequently appeared to have tied one on the night before a shoot. And while some will undoubtedly be DUPED into swearing that this is a Thrilling Masterpiece, those are most likely the kind of people you don't want to make eye contact with when you pass them on the street.
JUST AN ABSOLUTE WASTE OF FILM NEGATIVE AND TALENT...
An excellent recommendation 
2009-09-13 - My friend and I were recommended this movie to watch and finally they got one right. This movie starred the ever delightful Josh Harnett and was an excellent film that had action, drama, mystery, suspense and thrills.
I was sad when this movie ended because it was so good!
One of the best movies I have ever seen. 
2009-07-31 - Incredible cast, great acting, complex storyline, you won't expect what happens. Lots of action, some laugh out loud lines. I was stunned by how good this movie is. It stays with you also. Right up there with The Usual Suspects if you can believe that.