"Lucky Number Slevin" is slick and frosty: nice to look at but you don't want to get too close. Like that effortlessly attractive, straight-A guy in high school, "Lucky" seemingly has no bumps or flaws and ultimately no soul -- it impresses the hell out of you and leaves it at that. After the oohing and aahing, you're at a loss. Now what? The options seem pretty limited.
Directed by Paul McGuigan, who helmed the terribly stylish "Gangster Number One" (which showcased the best performance yet by Paul Bettany), "Lucky" is stylish, but too smooth and flawless; there's nothing in "Lucky" that you haven't seen or heard before, the stellar cast seems to have been chosen from a Hollywood instruction manual and the performances themselves are careful, excellent retreads. It's clever, but never intriguing, it's smart but, then again, a little boring. And the skill is so honed that you begin to wish someone would pick their nose or drop their pants to reveal nerdy boxers or something, ANYTHING -- a C-minus among all those A's.
Josh Hartnett stars as Slevin, a sweet, clueless type who arrives in Manhattan to stay in the apartment of his friend Nick. Turns out Nick is knee-deep in gambling debts to a gang boss conveniently called "The Boss" (Morgan Freeman). He's in a bitter feud with a rival boss called "The Rabbi" played by Ben Kingsley ("Why is he called the Rabbi?" "Because he is one!"). Slevin is mistaken for Nick, has his nose busted by some thugs and is hauled in front of the Boss, who informs him that the money owed (a neat little sum of $96,000) will be forgiven if Slevin succeeds in murdering the Rabbi's gay son. What's a cute, peaceful kind of guy like him to do, except say yes and be freed, if only temporarily? But Slevin doesn't really look worried. He falls for Lindsey (Lucy Liu) who lives across the hall and the pair soon start sleeping over in each other's apartments and sipping their morning coffee together. In the meantime, a snide cop called Brikowski (Stanley Tucci) is stalking Slevin for some reason, and a hard-ass assassin by the name of Mr. Goodkat (Bruce Willis) is doing business with both bosses. The puzzles and mysteries pile up at almost the same speed as the body count, but the seemingly defenseless Slevin remains unharmed, causing everyone to remark tirelessly at various intervals how he's "one lucky kid."