Lucky Number Slevin DVD

Advantages: Great casting, good storyline, pretty stylish production
Disadvantages: Repetitive editing style eg. dodgy camera angles, slightly cocky

Lucky Number Slevin is one of those films which whilst it does ooze style, it's of the sort which really gets under your nose, and no matter how many times Slevin is punched in the film, it's not nearly enough. The basic plot/ what they want you to believe, goes like this (it is damn hard not to give anything away, so bear with me here if it seems a bit confusing!): Slevin finds himself in one of the most awful cases of mistaken identity when he ...
...crime lords who believe that he is actually that friend, and request large sums of money from him. Forced by circumstance to honour their wishes, he suddenly finds that they are using him to get at each other, and in three days he has to hatch his own ingenious plot to avoid their evil plans. Meanwhile, the whole time he is unwittingly stalked and manipulated by a mysterious hitman, the enigmatic "Goodkat" (Bruce Willis). The casting is brilliant ... Read review

Advantages: Interesting story, nicely paced, Lucy Liu
Disadvantages: Have to concentrate

...action roles. In this respect Lucky Number Slevin fits the bill. Once again Willis is part of a good ensemble and certainly his contribution doesn't harm the project. Completing the notable performances is the ever-dependable Stanley Tucci as Brikowski the cop desperately trying to make sense of the unfolding events. There is a collection of colourful peripheral characters all having a welcomed impact on the story. The film certainly doesn't break ...
...and it must be said better films. As mentioned before the complexity of the plot leads you to think of 'The Usual Suspects' and 'Memento' although both those films were far more innovative in the way the story was presented and structured. We do get our obligatory flashbacks, which at first don't seem to make sense with the overall story but for the most part the story is linear and there are enough clues (so concentrate!) to enable the viewer to ... Read review

Advantages: Fast paced, funny and engaging
Disadvantages: Occasionally film-schooly in its execution

Slevin is having a really bad day; homeless, mugged and sporting a broken nose it looks like things can't get any worse. Then they do. Mistaken for someone else, he finds himself sandwiched between two crime lords that both want something from him. And on top of all that, if he doesn't do what they want, hired hitman Mr Goodkat will take him out…and not for dinner. "Gangster Number One" director Paul McGuigan uses every trick at his disposal to ...
...script. So you get stylised black and white flashbacks that ostensibly fill the gaps in the circular narrative, cross fades, split screen dialogue, jump cuts, speedy montages, sequences shot with hand-cranked cameras, nosebleed edited flashbacks, time-lapse and overlays. So it could easily feel like a student movie. But it's done in slick fashion and with such precision that it escapes that trap. It keeps the pacing punchy and skillfully distracts ... Read review

Advantages: The plot, the twist, the cast...
Disadvantages: Nothing!

When I first come across this film, it was on a movie channel on Virgin Media, my partner wanted to watch it and I didn't. I judge film titles and unless it's a comedy, I'm generally not interested. However, my partner, as usual, won the remote battle and we watched it. Plot ------ It begins with Mr Goodkat (Bruce Willis) in an airport telling a story to a young man. The story he tells involves a fixed horse race, and how the 'cert winner' eventually ...
...of money on the horse, he went to the race with his young son, telling his partner that he was taking him to the baseball game. He left his son in the car, and watched the race. This horse was winning, all the way to the end. Until it fell. The young man was devastated. Not because of money loss, but because the bookie he went to explained that if he lost, he owed him a lot of money. He returns to the car park where his car and his son are missing. ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent storyline and script
Disadvantages: Not as clever as it thinks it is

...a sense of coincidence or lucky about these actions. Everything seems too well planned and reminds me of a mystery picture book where you have to note every tiny detail in order to fully understand. Tarantino had some characters basically get lucky through timing etc wereas here everything seems to have been planned and crafted and tied with a bow which makes it slightly unrealistic. The twists are good but it did see most of them coming and when ... Read review