In theaters

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN, directed by Paul McGuigan, written by Jason Smilovic, 109 minutes, rated R.

The new Paul McGuigan movie, “Lucky Number Slevin,” is a violent, diverting stunt headlined by an A-list cast. So right away it’s on intoxicating, shaky ground. It comes recommended for those in the mood to leave logic outside the theater and just ride with a movie that exists solely to employ an endless stream of contrivances and complications.

All others should forget it.

Based on Jason Smilovic’s restless script, the film is nothing more than style over substance. But what style – and what a lack of substance. More than any other movie since “Casino,” here is a film in which the wallpaper should have received a credit (I looked, but didn’t catch one – so, we’ll leave it to Suzanne Cloutier and Normand Robitaille’s post-modern noir set design, which is one of the movie’s best assets).

Every room and every hallway in “Slevin” is papered with such intricate patterns, you don’t have to be the freshest flower in the arrangement to get McGuigan’s drift. His is a movie in which patterns increasingly fold in on themselves, with his characters – all of whom enjoy endless bouts of double-talk and double-entendres, the likes of which only could spring from a screenwriter’s head, which gets to the film’s self-conscious underpinnings -blending inward until there ceases to be a meaningful center. It’s due to the strength of the acting, which is excellent, and the peculiar situations that the movie is as entertaining as it is.

In its most streamlined form, this dense, jittery film stars Josh Hartnett as Slevin, a young man who arrives at the apartment of his friend, Nick Fisher, just when the timing couldn’t be worse. Fisher, it turns out, is a compulsive gambler whose debts are about to be called in by the crimelord, The Boss (Morgan Freeman), whose henchmen are sent to collect Fisher when instead they find Slevin.

It’s a simple case of mistaken identity, but nobody here cares. With haste, Slevin is taken to The Boss, who lives in a decadent Manhattan penthouse and who quickly cuts him a deal: Kill the gay son of his arch nemesis, The Rabbi (Ben Kingsley), who lives directly across from The Boss and who once killed The Boss’ son, and they will be square with the money. Seeing no way out, Slevin agrees.

Bruce Willis is the international assassin who adds dice to the movie. Stanley Tucci and Danny Aiello also show up, as does the indefatigable Lucy Liu as Slevin’s quirky love interest; she’s terrific. Railing through the movie are hints of “The Usual Suspects,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Sin City” and “North by Northwest,” the latter of which is referenced at length in a critical scene. While McGuigan is no Hitchcock or Tarantino – you sense he’d rather like to be, and who can blame him? – his latest is a vast improvement over his last film, the awful “Wicker Park.” That movie also starred Hartnett, who joins McGuigan in being very good here. In fact, it’s by far the best either has ever been.

Grade: B

On video and DVD

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, directed by Andrew Adamson, written by Ann Peacock, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, 140 minutes, rated: PG.

“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” startles with the intensity of its violence, which is surprising given its PG rating; the dramatic pull of its characters, which grab hold from the start; and the seamless incorporation of the special effects, which were among last year’s best.

From director Andrew Adamson, this stirring epic based on C.S. Lewis’ children’s book is filled with masterful touches that resonate. As it opens, we’re in the midst of World War II, the place is London, bombs are exploding and the blitz is on, with the four Pevensie siblings – Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) – being whisked to the safety of the countryside.

There, in a large manor house, they allegedly will be safe from war. But when the youngest child, Lucy, steals into a wardrobe, what she finds inside is a magical world of great beauty and greater danger.

The danger rests in the wicked Valkyrie warrior, Jadis (Tilda Swinton), who has put the kibosh on Christmas throughout this netherworld called Narnia. This most bitter, hateful of queens has turned Narnia into a snow-white wonderland frozen to its core, with its inhabitants – talking animals, fauns, centaurs, minotaurs, unicorns, and any number of other assorted beasts, particularly two chatty, lovable beavers – eager to defeat her.

To do so, they will need the help of the Pevensie children, who must dig deep within themselves to find the necessary mettle to join forces with the great lion Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson) and his army. A ferocious war ignites, with the White Witch rising to her full power and the Pevensies unable to escape their share of tragic consequences or some difficulty thanks to Edmund, who goes wrong in ways that won’t be revealed here.

Alongside the trilogy to which it will be compared – Peter Jackson’s take on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” series – “Narnia” stands tall, building to an almost operatic tone. A harrowing film, one of 2005’s finest.

Grade: A

Visit www.weekinrewind.com, the archive of Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s reviews, which appear Mondays in Discovering, Fridays in Happening, and Weekends in Television. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.