Lucky Number Slevin
November 2006 Reviewed by: Randall Smith Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

This is a stylish film much in the vein of Pulp Fiction, featuring big-time stars and a twisting and turning plot that doesn’t completely reveal itself until the end. A smart film, one that has great plot potential and a cast of actors that is capable of really delivering. But do they?

The movie starts off with a few random scenes that the filmmakers spend the rest of the film trying to tie together. The main character that binds the beginning scenes together is a boyish 20-something Slevin, played by Josh Hartnett. Hartnett appears to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, when two separate pairs of thugs of rival gangs show up to take "Nick" to see their respective bosses. The problem is, the guy the thugs are there to pick up, Nick, is Slevin’s buddy! However, thanks to an earlier random mugging, our hero doesn’t have any identification on him, so he has no way to disprove their mistaken identity of him. The two rival bosses turn out to be the great Morgan Freeman and the incomparable Ben Kingsley, who provide interesting performances. Slevin is given ultimatums by each boss and a certain amount of time to complete each task.

As interesting as the films plot is, it is the video transfer alone that gives this DVD its shine. The backdrops and the physical appearance of each character are captured and delivered in all of their brilliance. Crisp and clean colors along with solid black levels make the video transfer much better than average. Good lighting reveals intricate facial details that are impressive enough to be mistaken for HD. It took great care to deliver video of such quality that at times I lost myself looking at the screen without paying attention to the acting.

The audio stands out as well but is not as flashy as it is in some films of this genre. The surround speakers are not used for much more than to immerse you into a scene, but they are effective in the use of ambient sound. Gunshots are piercing and dynamic, and fight scenes get a little extra kick from the subwoofer that really energizes the room. Dialogue is clear and intelligible even at low sound levels. Combined with the video, it’s a very impressive arrangement. The extras are standard. There is a 14-minute "Making of" featurette and four deleted scenes, one of which is an alternate ending.

Lucky Number Slevin was not well-reviewed as a movie. Based on the cast and the original plot, I too would have expected a better effort overall. The film has its light moments as well as its down-and-dirty moments, but the scene with Freeman and Kingsley tied up together was the best moment of all. I recommend this DVD to anyone who has seen everything else like it, or to someone who just wants to see Kingsley and Freeman chewing up scenery in order to save it.

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