Fridae

What if you found yourself trapped in a dangerous gang war simply because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time? That is what happens to Slevin (Josh Hartnett), who seems to be in an extremely unlucky streak — he had just lost his job, caught his girlfriend cheating on him red-handed, and upon arriving in New York City to visit his friend Nick, was mugged and his wallet stolen.

Nick is missing, and Slevin decides to make himself at home in Nick's apartment. Bad choice. As it turns out that Nick owes two rival crime kingpins — The Boss (Morgan Freeman) and the Rabbi (Ben Kingsley) — sizeable amounts of money.

What's worse, The Boss' idea of debt repayment is decidedly unconventional, and of considerable risk to Slevin's well-being. Add to this a bunch of other characters, including Nick's inquisitive neighbour Lindsey (Lucy Liu), the dangerous assassin Mr Gookat (Bruce Willis), and a nosy detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci), and a plot filled with twists and turns, and you get one very complexly plotted movie that keeps engages you from beginning to end.

Director Paul McGuigan crafts a movie that is filled to the brim with MTV-esque camera tricks and edits, and Lucky Number Slevin is such a frenetic and energetic movie that it barely pauses for breath throughout its entire running length. Although the plot borders on stale and most of the plot twists are easily predicted, there is still enough material to surprise even the most jaded moviegoer. Lucy Liu also manages to steal the limelight in the handful of scenes that she appears in, thanks in large to the sparkling, witty dialogue that peppers the film.

Also, the very cute Josh Hartnett struts around in nothing but a towel for at least half an hour in the movie, leaving nothing much to the imagination and offering yet another reason as to why Lucky Number Slevin could possibly be the most entertaining movie you will get to see this week.