They fight the law and they win

While it is certainly derivative of Tarantino, I found Lucky Number Slevin to be a quite fun crime picture. I expect there is a high correlation between liking pulpy crime novels and movies of this sort. Certain crime movies like Pulp Fiction and Usual Suspects manage to appeal to a broader audience that a movie like Lucky Number Slevin is designed to attract. So if you like Donald Westlake/Richard Stark, Jim Thompson or Chester Himes stories, you will be more likely to enjoy this one.

The plot is fairly simple. Josh Harnett, in smart mouth doofus mode, is mistaken for someone else and forced to do work for two rival crime bosses. To talk much more about plot would break the spoiler rule. Let it be said, I wager you will work most of the movies secrets by the half way point, but this won't bother you but so much. While the critics have been disdainful, I thought the dialogue was solid, the comedy/violence mix was appropriate to the genre and the acting, particularly on the bad guy side, quite good.

In happy crime movie news, one of my favorite Elmore Leonard books is getting the cinema treatment. Killshot is straightforward and simple, but it works, I think Mickey Rourke in his new bad guy mode will be excellent.