In the tradition of Get Shorty and The Usual Suspects, McGuigan’s Slevin is surprisingly clever and multifaceted. The characters are well developed and persuasive, although some of the premises are a bit hard to swallow, such as the Rabbi mob boss, they never give up the charade.

Slevin (Hartnett) is caught up in the worst case of mistaken identity when two warring crime bosses target him for another man’s debt. This opening scenario weaves itself into an acceptable crime/mystery/noir film that might not break new cinematic ground, but definitely delivers.

While the script has fun at the expense of crime movie clich’s, it’s done in an enjoyable way. The scenes involving the crime bosses, the Boss (Freeman) and the Rabbi (Kingsley) are reminiscent of the 1996 crime comedy Trigger Happy, which played out like a fun hour for a good portion of Hollywood’s acting talent. Using Freeman and Kingsley as crime bosses for Slevin is as unlikely as casting Richard Dreyfuss for the deranged mob boss, Vic.

The film also provided something new for Lucy Liu, who plays the hyperactive, quirky and intrusive neighbor of the man Slevin has been mistaken for.

Willis’ role as an international assassin was the same basic character he’s played for nearly 20 years. Luckily, the more intriguing characters monopolize the screen.

Although many critics are damning it, Lucky Number Slevin is exceptionally entertaining, even if it is little more than an excuse for bored actors and screen writers to unfetter their overactive imaginations.