Director Paul McGuigan and star Josh Hartnett last collaborated on Wicker Park, a flawed but still interesting remake of L'Appartement. There, McGuigan got the best out of the often rather wooden actor, and he does the same in this playfully convoluted thriller. Hartnett plays Slevin, a young smart mouth who seems to be the victim of a serious case of mistaken identity when he's dragged from a friend's flat by some thugs. Soon he finds himself in the middle of a war between two rival gang leaders (Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley), who each appear to be employing the same mysterious hitman (Bruce Willis). Jason Smilovic's script provides zingy one-liners for Hartnett, who delivers them wearing a thoroughly appropriate perma-smirk, as well as scenery-chewing opportunities for both Freeman and Kingsley. Only Lucy Liu, as an irritatingly perky sidekick/romantic interest, casts a shadow over this lightweight, thoroughly disposable fun.

Slevin is mistakenly put in the middle of a personal war between the city’s biggest criminal bosses. Under constant watch, Slevin must try not to get killed by an infamous assassin and come up with an idea of how to get out of his current dilemma.