A self-indulgent thriller that split opinion strokes its chin on the streaming charts

Despite boasting a star-studded cast, a hard-boiled plot, and the sort of interwoven web of narrative mystery that can regularly sink its hooks into critics and audiences alike, Paul McGuigan’s 2006 modern noir Lucky Number Slevin was tagged in many reviews with the dreaded verbiage of “self-indulgent” and “pretentious”.

However, a lot of people disagree with that opinion, at least based on the film’s enduring popularity. Over 150 critics may have deemed it worthy of a middling 52 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, but in excess of 250,000 users have seen Lucky Number Slevin‘s audience rating skyrocket to 87 percent.

On paper, there’s a lot to love about a story following Josh Hartnett’s title hero stricken by a case of mistaken identity, one that puts him right in the middle of a brewing conflict between warring New York City criminal figureheads, played with gravitas by Oscar winners Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley.

Throw in Stanley Tucci’s cop, Bruce Willis’ hitman, and additional roles for the likes of Lucy Liu, Robert Forster, Corey Stoll, and others, Lucky Number Slevin has all the tools to deliver on its promise of tossing countless popular genres into a blender, and throwing it onto the screen as a delicious smoothie of something fresh.

Opinions may vary on whether that turned out to be the case, but one thing that can’t be denied is the opinion-splitting picture’s performance on streaming. As per FlixPatrol, the labyrinthine look at the underbelly of society has become one of the top-ranked titles on Prime Video, where it may be converting a whole new set of fans.