Lucky Number Sleven (but in the desert)

This film mainly reminded me of (the far superior) ‘Lucky Number Sleven’.  I won’t say why, because that might spoil it for you if you watch ‘Guns, Girls and Gambling.’ The two films follow (dare I say a ‘more British’ style?) genre of film where a character gets into trouble with numerous different warring factions (normally gangsters – think Lock Stock, Snatch and Layer Cake) and ends up having to dodge the lot of them and/or pit them against each other in order to come out on top.

Christian Slater’s offering is – sadly – not quite as good as any of those films I’ve mentioned.  However, that’s not to say it didn’t have a certain charm.  Did I like it?  Yes, I did.  It kept me entertained for its duration.  It’s not the longest of films, but it does have some fun scenes which go a long way to make me stay the distance.

From the title, you can probably tell that it is going to be a little tongue-in-cheek.  It could never be played totally straight.  There’s plenty of black humour as one assassin murders another, before being offed himself in another gruesome way.  There are plenty of characters, all of which get their own ‘freezeframe introduction,’ complete with title.  This probably happens a little too often and ceases to be cool pretty soon, especially as most of the characters get killed only a few scenes after they’re introduced.  The other downside – in my opinion – is the blonde ‘bombshell’ assassin who spouts poetry before she kills her victims.  It’s supposed to be cool, but it just doesn’t work and I found it pretty hard to stand.

You may have noticed Gary Oldman on the cover.  That’s about his biggest part in the film.  What he does is little more than an extended cameo, but – naturally – he steals every scene he’s in.  There are some twists in the story – some you’ll see coming, others may take you by surprise, but by the time the credits roll, you’ll feel satisfied that everything adds up (well, just, but it does more than it doesn’t!).

If you like those sorts of Guy Richie gangster movies, or are just looking for something loud, a bit cheesy and quick, then give this one a go.  It’s no classic, but it is entertaining if you set your sights low enough.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that