Fight your way ‘inside’ theaters for this flick.

Take a break from ‘smoking’ for this film.

Josh Hartnett doesn’t seem to get enough credit for what a decent actor he is. Of course, his film selection is suspect with bombs such as “Hollywood Homicide” and “Wicker Park,” still leaving audiences either cringing or snoring.

With “Lucky Number Slevin,” Hartnett shows he can hang with the best of them and gets the opportunity to shine next to acting greats Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis and Sir Ben Kingsley.

Hartnett stars as Slevin, a down-on-his-luck nobody who seems to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. In a case of mistaken identity, Slevin is confused for his friend Nick, that gets him in hot water with two rival mob bosses, played by Freeman and Kingsley.

As if matters couldn’t get any worse, a mysterious hit man known as Mr. Goodkat, played by Willis, also seems to have an axe to grind with our hero. The only way to prove that he isn’t Nick is to show them some I.D., which he lost in a mugging.

Slevin gets himself tangled in a gang war, trying to pay off debts to both bosses, while trying to solve a mystery where everything isn’t quite what it seems.

The film has noir fingerprints all over it and they belong to director Paul McGuigan and writer Jason Smilovic, creatively molding a whip-smart story into a cunning and deceptive game of cat and mouse.

Hartnett portrays Slevin as a guy who always has to have the last word, no matter how much trouble it gets him in. Slevin always seems to have the upper hand as far as wits go, but he’s constantly digging himself a deeper grave because of it. He’s the kid that’s too smart for his own good, and Hartnett nails the role, essentially channeling a younger version of Humphrey Bogart in Howard Hawks’ noir classic, “The Big Sleep.”

Also along for the ride is Lucy Liu, who does for this film what Natalie Portman did for “Garden State.” Liu, playing the plucky next door neighbor who befriends Slevin, is the girl it’s impossible not to fall in love with. In what is usually a weak role for women in a noir, Liu simply demands attention every time she’s on screen.

It’s nice to see Freeman playing a role that doesn’t require any mentoring every now and then and his role as The Boss lets him sharpen his claws a bit. Kingsley was a better villain in “Sexy Beast,” but still manages to make his role as rival boss, The Rabbi, a pulpy piece of acting bliss.

A more observant eye could see the twist coming at the end of the film, but the film had me hook, line and sinker, and it will probably have the same effect on many audiences when the film is released.

This film is a throwback, a twisting maze of double crosses and smoldering tension. It’s the kind of film that makes you wish you had it on DVD for a quick second viewing. All of the performances are top-notch with each actor putting their own memorable stamp on their character. As for Harnett, here’s hoping his lucky number is “Slevin.”

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars.

Frank Miller at [email protected].